Shattered Mirror
by brown phantom
Summary: NEW POLL! Pre-timeskip. Naruto loses his memory and ends up in Kiri. As he tries to start a new life as a mist-nin, friends and foes from his old life try to track him down. NaruOC NaruHina
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first story with a beta, Knight-Bishop, and the creator of the idea for the story. Hope you all enjoy. If you do, check out his profile too for another fic we're working on together called "The Broken Mirror"._

"No trouble so far?" A man wearing the hitai-ate of Kiri asked an elderly but able-bodied fisherman.

"No sir." The fisherman answered as he tried tying his boat to the dock. But he kept having trouble, it was as if his fingers weren't willing to fully cooperate with him. He knew he was getting old, but he loved his livelihood and didn't see any reason why he should stop just yet. "Nothing dangerous I've seen in these seas lately."

"See anything on the shore that appeared out of place?" A Kiri kunoichi asked too.

"Didn't look. When I'm out in my boat, all I notice is the water around me. Got no time to be paying attention to what's going on on land."

"Thank you. Let's hope things stay this calm."

The fisherman lightly laughed. "Nothing stays calm in the sea for long. It's always full of surprises even you ninja can never see coming."

The two shinobi thanked him for his time again, waved, and walked off to ask another if there were any disturbances. This was a routine requirement for the Land of Water; ninja needed to check out the well-being and potential danger of the docks. Sure, most people who worked there knew what to handle, but that was when some animal or the sea itself was the problem. The shinobi had to ensure no rogue bandits or foreign enemies were trying to damage the only way to connect Land of Water had to the mainland. And today looked like an uneventful day, which was both a good thing and a bad thing to a shinobi.

The two currently on the job was a man named Janzou Jounochi and a woman named Midorigami Kasumi. Jounochi had short black hair, brown eyes, a scar by his left ear from a past fight against a Kusa nin, and dressed a lot like Momochi Zabuza did, but wore just beige and olive colors. On his back he wore a dark red backpack along with a battle axe on top for easy reach, not the best ninja weapon but one few had experience countering. Kasumi had long brown hair with a white streak starting behind each ear reaching the end, hazel eyes, a dark blue battle kimono with a green leaf pattern scattered over it, and a regular ninja-to at her hip.

"I'm sure looking forward to going home." Jounochi stated just to get conversation started.

Kasumi nodded. "Me too; cause then we can try out chapter 24 of Icha Icha Tactics, right Jou-chan?"

"I thought we were saving that for our honeymoon koiishi."

"What if I don't wanna wait?" Kasumi added lecherously just to toy with him.

"You can't wait six weeks?" Jounochi asked rhetorically. He had mixed feelings about his fiancées new erotic behavior, which all started when she gave in to her friend's pestering and actually read one of the famous dirty books. Since then it was like her hormones were unleashed and rapid, but her morals were strong enough to prevent her from giving in. But boy did she like to tease now, which meant their honeymoon was definitely going to be fun, but the wait was killer for both.

"I can if you're up for some heavy petting at least." Kasumi answered as she looped an arm around his own. The two stopped to look into each other's eyes for a while and then kissed in a way only loved ones can appreciate. After they stopped, they went back to walking down the beach to the next pier; until something on the shore caught their eye.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jounochi asked as they both croutched down to examine it.

Kasumi touched it on a sensitive area. "Yes and no. Yes it is a body, and no it's not dead."

"This guy's still alive?"

"Barely; there's hardly any pulse or body heat. It's like he's unconscious with hypothermia or something. He needs medical attention now."

Jounochi nodded. "Then we'll have to bring him to Kiri right away. There's only a clinic nearby and they're only qualified for basic injuries and colds." Kasumi nodded, and Jounochi picked up the strange person who washed up on shore. "Hey, he's just a kid."

"Then we better hurry." Kasumi told him, her mind solely on the job now like the professional she was.

Without further commetning, the two Kiri jounin hurried back to their hidden village, wondering what this situation meant.

* * *

Terumi Mei, the newly appointed Godaime Mizukage of Kirigakure, and one of the few people with a kekkei genkai remaining within the village, was taking her break when a pair of shinobi came into her office unexpectedly. She internally sighed and carefully placed her unopened orange novel back in one of the desk drawers. Not that she was afraid or embarrassed they'd see it. "Yes?"

"Mizukage-sama, we found something you may want to see." Jounochi claimed.

Mei's cheerful expression and relaxed position didn't change. "Do tell."

"Ao-san can do that better. He's down in Holding Cell E with the... subject of interest." Kasumi told her.

Mei debated with herself about the significance of this situation for a moment. Part of her was curious and felt this was potentially a big deal, and part of her wanted to go back to her break and forget about business for a few minutes more. In the end she figured she might as well go down there and got out of her chair. "Fine, I'll be down shortly."

Down in a room labeled Holding Cell E, one of several used to contain Kiri's captive's, Mei met up one of her best guards, who also happened to be the one that bothered her the most, albeit unwillingly and unknowingly. "So tell me Ao, what is so damn interesting here?" All she saw was a man with an eye patch standing next to an examination table with a shroud over it. It was easy to see there was a person underneath it, but that didn't peak Mei's interest as much as she thought this might.

"This!" The cycloptic mist nin said before he pulled the shroud off the table.

Mei took a short look at the body and still wasn't impressed. "So?"

The body turned out to be that of a young boy close to thirteen years old at the oldest. He had blonde hair, marks on his face that looked an awful lot like whiskers, and an orange jumpsuit that looked cut up and faded in color now. He was unconscious, overall dry but still damp in some spots.

"So?" Ao asked in surprise. "On one of our patrols to check out our countries ports Janzou-san and Midorigami-san saw this young man washed up on shore looking like he'd been through a stampede or something. I'm amazed this kid was even still alive since he looks like he'd been floating out at sea for several days at least."

The mizukage's expression still didn't change. "I'm not interested in how he was found. What I want to know is why all of you deemed some small fry intriguing enough to bring me directly here."

"That's because of what I saw with this." Ao told her as he carefully touched his covered right eye, which happened to be a transplanted byakugan eye. Mei's head tilted slightly, telling him subtly she wanted to hear more. "My byakugan saw no wounds, although there were signs of healing. But the real interesting thing here is that I saw two different types of chakra in his network. One blue, and one red."

Mei gave the unconscious boy another look over, this time not smiling, before returning her attention to her guard. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" She asked with slight fear and interest.

Ao nodded before giving the boy his own look over. "Yeah. I have a feeling this boy may be a jinchuuriki. Although I'm not sure which one. So what should we do with him?"

"We'll keep him held here for now and wait to see if he regains consciousness anytime soon. Then we'll figure it out." Mei answered and grinned yet again. "To be honest, I'm kind of curious about how someone like that would have ended up here."

"Yeah. We're a long way from the mainland. Makes me wonder what sort of horrible thing could make anyone get washed up like that." Ao commented, not noticing as usual Mei's expression darkening.

_'...Whorey? ...With anyone? ...And washed up?'_

"If I had to guess, he fell into the ocean and then currents that loop around the sea between us and the mainland carried him..." Ao started to think aloud.

"Shut up or I'll kill you." Mei told him in a dangerous way with an eerily friendly face.

_'What did I do?'_ Ao thought as he tried to back away from the crazed woman, scared witless. She may look gentler than the previous mizukage's but she was no less intimidating. Not by a long shot.

* * *

Mei went back to work and heard nothing more regarding the 'guest' from parts unknown until the end of the day. At that time one of the Kiri Anbu told her that he was showing signs of waking up, so she headed back down but in no hurry. When she got there she saw he was already awake and had been transferred to an interrogation room with a window for her to look in through. Of course it was a mirror on the other side.

The washed up boy was sitting on a chair, not tied up but he had been disarmed and his hands were tied behind him. Ao stood in front of him but didn't obstruct Mei's view of the captive. Once his byakugan told him she was present, he got ready to begin. "So tell me boy, who are you and what are you doing here?" Right now he was trying the 'good cop' approach, even though he wasn't a professional interrogator.

The boy slowly raised his head and blinked several times, conscious but not fully aware of the situation yet. "Where am I?"

"I'm the one asking the questions here bub. So tell me your business here."

"What business? What is this place?"

"Again boy, I'm the one who'll ask the questions. But for the record, you're being held in Kiri."

"Ki... ri?" The boy repeated like he had never heard of such a place. "How did I get here?"

"Tell me your name." Ao demanded, wondering how long this was gonna take.

The boy looked like he was actually thinking it over. "Umm... I... I don't remember." He then gave Ao a frightened look. "Have I done something wrong?"

Ao looked curious. "What's the last thing you remember?"

The boy closed his eyes and looked either panicked or like he was trying to recall something but was having a hard time doing so. Maybe it was both. "Nothing." He finally said after a few moments. "I don't remember anything before just now."

Ao's byakugan checked the boy's pulse and saw it was normal._ 'Either he's being honest or he's a damn good actor.'_ "Tell me son, do the names Konoha, Iwa, Kumo, or Suna ring a bell?"

"Umm...no, nothing in particular. Why; what are they?"

"Oh nothing. Do you have any idea why you were out at sea earlier?"

"I was at the sea? What was I doing?"

Ao kept his eye on the boy's pulse and still saw no change. "Excuse me for a minute young man." He then left the room and deactivated his acquired eye. "Mizukage-sama, I suspect this boy has total amnesia."

Mei nodded. "As do I. But let's keep him here until we have a chance to confirm this or his identity. I'll go over the records of known nin and see if anything matches up with him. But that may take a while. See to it he at least has something to eat and maybe something comfortable to sleep on in the meantime. No reason to be barbaric to our guest."

She walked away then and everyone remaining went back to work, wondering what to do with their new captive.


	2. Chapter 2

Kasumi went down to Holding Cell E to give the captive something to eat for lunch. Since she and her fiancée had been the ones to find and bring him in, she felt a need to oversee how he was doing for the time being. It was more concern for a helpless kid than anything else, but she was a nice person by nature when not on a mission and couldn't help how she felt about this. Fortunately Mei had no problem with that for now and let her do the task.

She unlocked the door and went inside carrying a small tray of meager food, just miso ramen with some crackers. She noticed the amnesiac (she really wished she knew a name to address him by) passed out on the floor sound asleep and looking rather defenseless just then. Kasumi smiled when she saw him like this. With those whisker-like scars on his cheeks he reminded her of this cute little kitten she had as a child.

There had been a few of the guards here who had wanted to hurt this boy.

_"What if he's a spy from an enemy village?" _They had whispered.

_"They should drop him back in the ocean, with rocks tied to his neck."_ Was another thing another said.

Luckily for him though she wasn't there to hurt him. The closest she came to that was when she nudged him with her foot to see how deeply asleep he was. He batted her foot away and did nothing else anything else. She did it again, a little harder, and she thought she saw his eyelids briefly lift and then close.

"Maybe I should just leave this here for him and check up on him later." Kasumi thought out loud to herself in a whisper. Once she set the tray down on the floor, the amnesiac blonde started sniffing the aroma and really waking up.

"What smells so good?" He asked with a yawn as he rubbed the sleep for his eyes.

"Good, you're awake. Just brought you a snack, you must be hungry by now." She said as she slid the tray to him.

His stomach growled as if cued to do so just then. And boy did it sound ravenous. Kasumi smiled "Guess I was right. Hope you enjoy ramen."

"Of course! It's my favorite." He happily said as he sat up. The smile on his face just disappeared, replaced with a look of wonder. "Wait, I can remember something now. I eat this stuff all the time back home."

"And where is your home?" Kasumi asked with hope that his memories were returning.

He shrugged. "Still have no idea. Maybe eating will help me." He quickly downed the whole thing. Kasumi had never seen anyone eat ramen like this before.

"Maybe you're from the Land of Udon? I hear ramen's a big thing there. Or maybe Land of Greens?"

The young boy thought it over. He closed his eyes and seemed to be deep in thought. Then he opened them and said. "I'm not so sure. Nothing comes to mind." As he spoke he wasn't aware he had one of the fish paste cakes usually served with ramen stuck on the side of his mouth.

Kasumi snickered and reached over to take it off him. "You had a little something left over." She held it out for him to take, which he did. But he didn't eat it, just looked at it.

"Something wrong?" She asked as she watched his observe the bit of food.

"Something about a spiral looks really familiar to me." He mentioned.

She didn't bother mentioned his outfit had two spirals on it, neither of which he could easily see. _'Maybe it means something else?'_ "So spirals might be a common sight wherever you come from?"

He shrugged again. "Maybe. Or maybe these things are common there?"

"Oh those naruto cakes are common everywhere with ramen." Kasumi casually stated. Her carefree expression changed to serious when the look of dawning comprehension appeared on his own face. "What?"

"I... I think I just... remembered my name." he said with some hesitation.

"Really? What is it?" Kasumi eagerly asked.

"When you said that, I just had... flashes of memories where people called me Naruto. Maybe that's my name."

She arched an eyebrow. "Naruto? Your name is a ramen topping?" she said aloud but inside she was laughing.

"Doesn't it have another meaning? Most names do, but it depends on what kanji you use, right?"

Kasumi nodded. "Well, if not 'fish paste cake' it could possibly mean 'maelstrom', which is a lot more dignified."

He thought it over and then nodded "Okay. For now, why don't we just go with maelstrom Naruto until I remember otherwise?"

Kasumi shrugged nonchalantly. "Your name pal, your choice."

"So can you tell me how long I'm going to be in here? I'm getting a little antsy." The guy now referred to as Naruto asked.

"Not up to me. But since you're done eating I can go talk to who does make that call." Kasumi answered as she took his tray and used empty bowl and left the room. _'It may not be wise, but I do hope things work out for him. Not having any idea who he is or where he's from... that must be a scary feeling."_

* * *

The boy now known as Naruto sat in cell and went searching through his mind. He was trying to find some other kind of memories that might tell him more about his past; but all he did was find darkness.

Naruto ran his hand through his blonde hair. "Come on think, think. My name is Naruto, I'm thirteen and I'm in a place called Kiri; that much I know. And now I remember… blah; nothing."

He laid back down on the floor. Naruto closed his eyes, wanting to try one last search. He thought long and searched deep.

Then he remembered something. He remembered pain, a great deal of pain and hands grabbing him and-

WHAM

He hit another wall in his mind and then once more was met with the darkness of obliviousness. "Damn, thought I had something." He muttered bitterly.

Naruto remained on the floor with his eyes closed until he once more fell asleep.

* * *

"His name is Naruto… at least that's what he thinks it is. No word on any family name yet." Kasumi told the mizukage.

"Naruto huh? Well it's not much but it is a start." Mei said as she leaned back in her chair.

"What have our informants on the mainland found?" Kasumi asked

Mei sighed "Nothing, there are no missing person reports. And we gave his description to some local towns but no one knows him-" She paused and smiled "Perfect."

Kasumi stared "Madam?"

Mei fixed the women with a cold stare but had a friendly smile on her face. "Leave."

Kasumi knew better then to argue with the Mizukage so she bowed and left the room.

Mei put her hands together and began to think. _'No reports, no identification, no memories, no ties to anyone else. Basically I have total say over the fate of this little jinchuuriki, and we haven't had one here since Yagura-sama. From what I know most other villages have at least one. Two of them even possess two of the tailed beasts. I'd be an idiot to not seize this opportunity. Now how to make it all work without any loose ends?'_

* * *

"So he at least has a name now, but not much else." Kasumi summarized the situation to her fiancée as they sat in the central room of his house. Technically _their_ house since she was going to move in once they were married, but officially she still lived on her own in a small apartment for now. Anyway, she and Jounochi were sitting across from each other discussing the young boy they brought to Kiri the other day.

"So what do we call him?" Jounochi asked.

"Get this, Naruto, meaning 'maelstrom', not the ramen topping."

"Odd. Any surname?"

Kasumi shook her head. "Not yet. Nor any signs of a kekkei genkai or hostile intentions. Or for that matter any intentions at all that I can see."

Jounochi arched an eyebrow. "So you suspect he might have been a ninja before? You wouldn't have stated that if the thought hadn't crossed your mind."

"I think it's crossed everyone's minds, even Mizukage-sama. But then again, what kind of shinobi would wear an orange jumpsuit like that?"

"What kind of shinobi gets washed up on shore like litter?" Jounochi added.

"Maybe someone attacked him and tried to get rid the body?" Kasumi suggested without much certainty.

"But from where though? It's several hundred miles to the mainland and he looked like he had been out there days. I don't even know how he could have survived."

"Hmmm I think maybe the mizukage might know." Kasumi said quietly.

Jounochi looked confused "What's makes you say that?"

"I went into her office today and when I asked if there had been new information on trying to find out who Naruto is. She said there hadn't been any… and she seemed glad. Like she had hoped there wouldn't be any." Kasumi told him.

"But why would she want it that way?" Jounochi asked.

"I don't know-" She began but was interrupted with the words "And neither will you know."

Both shinobi turned to Ao standing there.

Jounochi looked shocked "Ao-san, how did you get in here?"

"Your door was unlocked. Furthermore I am surprised both of you let your guard down. If I had been some kind of assassin I could have killed both of you with ease." The cycloptic ninja said with disappointment in voice. He tended to expect everyone to be dead serious about their jobs, even when they weren't on duty.

Both Kasumi and Jounochi briefly looked ashamed. "What do you want?" Kasumi finally asked.

Ao looked around and then turned back to them. "I have come to inform you that by order of Mizukage-sama and the militia that all information regarding the boy Naruto is now to be considered an S-Rank secret." He said all this quietly, but there was a great deal of menace in his voice.

Kasumi and Jounochi looked at each other and then they both asked "Why?"

Ao blinked his one visible eye then he once more looked around to make sure no one was watching and or listening. "That is classified and I am not allowed to share any further information with you. And neither of you are to share this information with anyone besides the mizukage or myself. If you do then both of you will be charged with high treason and will be executed. The main reason I'm telling you this is because by law you're allowed to be told because you brought him here. Do you understand what I have told you?"

Both of them nodded.

Ao smiled "Good." Then he looked Kasumi for a moment before saying "The mizukage in all of her wisdom has decided that Naruto is to become a Kiri ninja and you Kasumi-san are to be his sensei."

Kasumi looked both shocked and honored at the same time. "M…Me?"

Ao nodded "Yes, as you are the current leader of Squad Eight. And from what I understand you are a currently lacking one student. As in case you don't recall, the same law that says you're allowed to be told his fate because you brought him here demands he become your responsibilty. You will report to Holding Cell E tomorrow and inform Naruto. He seems to trust you."

And with that Ao left leaving behind two shocked and confused Shinobi.

* * *

"You informed them of what has and will happen." Mei asked Ao as she sat behind her desk.

Ao nodded "Just as you commanded."

Mei smiled "And what of the medical nin that examined him?"

"Silenced and all reports about his discovery and being brought here were destroyed. I also personally saw to it that new records were made to make it seem like the boy Naruto has always been here and is a citizen of Kiri. All he needs is a surname and it's official." The ninja said proudly.

"Wonderful wonderful, everything is working out perfectly." She stood up and looked out her window, staring down at her village. "By any chance have you figured out what bijuu he has?"

"No madam, we have not been able to even narrow down the list. The name of the tailed beast or even it's container has always been a closely guarded secret for each village."

Mei sighed. "Ah well, it doesn't matter at the moment."

Ao nodded. "Indeed madam, even if he is the ichibi, combined with our current military, we would have a strategic advantage over the other villages."

Mei looked back and stared at her military advisor with an oh-too-friendly gaze. "Why, Ao, you make it sound as if we are at war."

The cycloptic ninja looked confused "Well uh… um... aren't we madam?"

The Mizukage smiled grew even wider and more deadly "No, not yet."


	3. Chapter 3

Kasumi didn't have a good feeling about today. Her women's intuition told her that things weren't going to go smoothly and she told the mizukage this. Mei simply shrugged it off and stated she knew that, but saw no other way to handle the situation and told Kasumi to just deal with it. And Mei could be quite persuasive when she wanted to be.

But what exactly was so important about Naruto that he was now considered to be an S-Rank secret? She was curious enough to want to ask the mizukage herself… but she was smart enough to keep her mouth shut. She might be a ninja but she still valued her life.

So now Kasumi was heading to her destination with a guest, awaiting the inevitable bombshell. And her guest didn't look so eager either, but she couldn't really blame him. He had been inside a cell and had almost zero contact with anyone but her and maybe a guard. When she opened his cell door this morning Naruto had a look Kasumi had seen once on a man who was going to be executed. But when she had informed him of the mizukage's order he seemed to become more relaxed. But she could still sense some hesitation in him so she tried to act friendly. "You wanna get something to eat first?"

Her guest Naruto shook his head no. "Not really hungry; maybe later after we're finished with this."

She nodded slowly. "Gotcha. We're almost there anyway."

Their destination turned out to be a white gazebo surrounded by teal flowers, next to a small waterfall. And as they got closer they could see there was somebody already sitting down inside; a young girl who looked sort of forlorn.

She had short hair that framed the sides of her face and was colored a scarlet red. Her outfit was a dull and unimaginative gray and consisted of a sleeveless top and short skirt with a bit of her midriff showing and bandages around her forearms and shins. She had a long sword strapped to the left side of her hip, which was obstructed from view since her right side was facing the approaching two. Also her eyes weren't totally visible either.

"Hello Shiori-san. Glad you decided to show up." Kasumi shouted when she got close enough. Her voice carried a slight sense of uncertainty as she spoke.

The waiting girl, now known as Shiori, turned slowly to face them. Her sad green eyes immediately locked onto Naruto, and gained an indifferent edge quite quickly. "You would have written me up if I hadn't sensei. So this is the chump that Mizukage-sama thinks is good enough for us?" She replied with tone of voice that said 'I-came-out-here-for-this?'

_'What the...?'_ Naruto asked himself, wondering what he'd done to deserve that, if anything.

Kasumi sighed with irritation. "Shiori-san take that back." She had figured Shiori might act like this.

"No. It's the truth. He's only here because Mizukage-sama thinks he might fit in here when you and I both know that..."

"Shiori-san." Kasumi cut the girl off with a stern glare. "Enough. I know you have issues with the idea, but for the sake of this team put them aside."

Shiori looked madder and then looked away. "Easy for you to say. It's harder for some of us to forget."

Kasumi stepped in front of the girl, and kept doing it whenever Shiori tried to keep looking away. "Shiori-san, you're not the only one who cared about Hikaru-san. I don't like what happened either but sulking about it isn't going to help anyone."

Kasumi's voice was very angry but she seemed to be keeping control of it. "Now we have a new member, whether you like it or not, so deal with it and learn to get along with him. If you won't, then by all means retire. I for one will not keep putting up with a student who acts like a child throwing a temper tantrum." She fell silent and stared at Shiori as if daring her to continue.

Shiori looked even madder now and just stormed away, but not before glaring one last time at Naruto. "I don't know who you think you are, but you're nowhere near Hikaru-kun's level and you never will be. So just scram and leave us be!" She left quickly before anyone could reply.

"Did I do something?" Naruto asked the older woman. He was very confused right now and wondered why this girl was so angry at him for no reason; however the feeling somehow felt familiar.

Kasumi sat down in the gazebo and sighed. "No, that wasn't your fault. Come sit down."

He did as he was told and she continued. "Awhile ago I had another student. His name was Nionji Hikaru, and he was Shiori-san's partner. The two had been good friends for years and worked well together as a team. I also think Shiori-san might have had an infatuation for him. But two months ago we were on a mission in Land of Lightning and met up with a dangerous man. I and Shiori-san got out of it okay, with only minor injuries, but Hikaru-san... didn't make it." The memories of that incident almost brought tears to her eyes; but she suppressed them

"I'm sorry." Naruto said sympathetically.

"Thanks. Anyway, Shiori-san still hasn't really gotten over it, and I think she's trying to make sure she doesn't. She refuses to work with any of the other genin squads, doing only solo missions or ones with just me, and has refused to be transferred to be a part of another group. And we haven't had any genin available to work as a new member until you came along. I think when she looks at you, she feels like you're trying to take his place and that sickens her."

"But I'm not. I was just told to work with you." Naruto defended himself.

"I know that, but I don't think she sees it that way. And I'm not sure if she's thinks you're intending that or not, but to her there's probably no difference either way." Kasumi said, and then turned to look in the direction Shiori walked off. "I'm not sure what will help her, but I can't just leave her to sulk and stay miserable the rest of her life."

Naruto looked in the same direction for a bit, and then stood up. "I'll go talk to her for a bit, before she does anything rash."

"Good luck." Kasumi whispered as he started walking away knowing that he was going to need it.

* * *

Naruto found the irritable redhead sitting up in a tree looking out at a pond with lots of ducks in it and in the distance there was one deer getting a drink. It seemed to be a very calming place.

It was obvious she knew that he was there since her position shifted, but she was trying to pretend he wasn't there. Not sure what to say that wouldn't start a fight; he waited for her to say something.

After three minutes, she did. "What the hell do you want?" She didn't even look at him

"Hoping to set the record straight." Naruto said calmly

"It's none of your business, now leave." Shiori responded still not looking at him.

Naruto leaned against the tree and looked up. "Well, since I've been assigned to be on your team I believe it is. I know you don't like it, that's obvious. But the thing is, I'm not this Hikaru guy and I never will be. And in case you didn't already know, no one else will be either. What you're doing is very immature and disrespectful to me."

Shiori practically fumed at hearing that. "I said it's none of your business. And what do you know about losing a teammate anyway?" Her nails digging into the bark.

"Can't say. I have no idea what happened in my life before this week. But something happened that changed my life and to be honest I'd rather it didn't. If it were up to me, it never would have happened and nothing would have changed. Kinda like how you wish things had been, am I right?"

Shiori was silent, not wanting to admit he was right. Several times she wished she could go back and change that one event and make it so everything was still the same.

"But that's not how things work. Change happens whether we want it to or not, and not always in a good way for us. I didn't want to lose my memories any more than you wanted to lose your friend. But that's what happened, and unlike you, I plan to actually cope and try to make some new memories. What are you going to do, sulk in loneliness and misery?"

"Maybe I like misery; maybe I like being alone." Shiori shot back as she dropped out of the tree to look right at him.

"No one likes being alone, and maybe I didn't know this Hikaru and I never will… but I think I know enough to say that he wouldn't want to see you the way that you are."

Shiori was very silent and so was Naruto. They could hear the buzzing of dragonflies before finally Shiori turned her head slowly and when she turned to face Naruto he could see tears streaking down her face. "Damn you." And then she burst out into sobs.

Naruto moved and placed her hand on her shoulder. The crying red head tried to push him away but he would not be moved. And that forced her to cry harder. The blonde then hugged her and she sobbed into his shoulder. "It's not fair." She cried.

"I'm sorry." Naruto said as he continued to hug her.

"I should have stayed with him; it's my fault… if I had stayed with him he would have… it's my fault."

"No, it's not. You didn't kill him, someone else did." Naruto said feeling that it sounded like the right thing.

Shiori looked up from Naruto's shoulder, which was now covered in tears and snot. "W… why? Why are you doing this? You don't even know me."

"Because we're teammates now and that's all I need to know?" He said, and once more Shiori cried.

And from her hiding place in one of the trees, Kasumi smiled "Well done Naruto… well done. Maybe you will do this team some good."

* * *

Ao hated to be kept waiting. His informant should have been here over an hour ago. In order to keep the information about Naruto a secret, Ao chose not to use Kiri's vast spy network and decided to use one of his… less then legitimate informants. And one of them had just the information he needed.

He had arranged for them to meet one of Kiri's smaller and uninhabited islands. Actually it was just a tiny meek little lump of rock that stuck of the ocean.

"Where the hell is that bastard? If he was screwing with me then-"

"Ao-sama, Ao-sama." A loud voice rang through the air. The cycloptic ninja turned to see the man he had been waiting for.

Akura Hiro was an unattractive man. He was pale and skinny and in some ways resembled a scarecrow that had been brought to life. He was dressed in a simple fisherman's outfit and an oversized coat. When he got close enough he finally stopped and stooped over to catch his breath.

"Jeez you had to pick this place for our meeting? No ships even come by here. I had to buy a skiff out of my own money to get here. Do you know how-?" Hiro shut up when he saw Ao's eye narrow, and gulped. "I'll shut up and listen now."

Ao nodded. "Do you have the information?" he asked. His eye never leaving Hiro; he detested this man. Hiro always stank of smoke and cheap liquor.

Hiro nodded his head vigorously. "Oh yes sir, and I must say that I risked a lot to get this, I can probably never go back to Land of Fire now. I think that might call for an increase of what you're paying me."

Ao's face darkened "What I pay you will depend on several things… one which is if you actually brought it."

"Oh, I brought it sir." The scarecrow-like man said as he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a sealed scroll. "Everything is right here." He said as he patted it with his free hand.

Ao's expression did not change. "How can I trust that the information on that scroll is accurate?"

Hiro gave a bemused smile. "Now sir, has any of the information I have ever given you been wrong?" Ao's face still remained cold. "Ok then, moving on, you're not going to believe this stuff sir. I mean I didn't even believe it and I'm the one that got the information. But it is the truth."

"Well then let me see the scroll." Ao said as he held out his hand. And Hiro drew the scroll closer to him.

"Yeah… sir we aren't really that friendly… so I'm going to need my money first."

Ao gave a small growl but he reached into his own pocket and pulled out a thick envelope. He saw Hiro's eyes gleam. "All of it's there. Now, the scroll."

Hiro held out the scroll Ao took it and Hiro grabbed the envelope and hugged it to him tightly. Ao shook his head with disgust as he turned around and opened the scroll. He began reading and his good eye grew wider and wider with every word. He closed the scroll and placed it in his pocket.

He then looked over at Hiro who had torn open the envelope and was counting his money. Ao hated Hiro, but he had always been very reliable when it came to getting information. But why leave any loose ends? He turned and withdrew his kunai.


	4. Chapter 4

Tsunade was in her office looking at Kurenai and her genin team. None of them looked like anything resembling a good mood. Kurenai and Shino looked the calmest, but that was only because Kurenai was more used to great deals of trouble on a mission than her students.

As for Shino, he always kept his face hidden and you never really knew what he was feeling; ever. Kiba looked like he was wary of something bad about to happen any second, while Akamaru whimpered on top of his head. Hinata meanwhile kept her face down so it couldn't be seen, but her hands were clasped together tightly and her shoulders were slightly trembling.

_'Whatever it is, this has bad news written all over it.'_ Tsunade briefly thought and she hated bad news, since bad news meant more work and as Hokage she had enough work on her hands. "Team 8, what happened on your assignment? I'm judging it was a failure since the target doesn't appear to be acquired."

Kurenai sighed and briefly closed her eyes before answering. "It was. We couldn't find Naruto Uzumaki anywhere. All we did find was a dead-end lead with rather... unsatisfying results."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Go on." She still remembered when she had assigned this mission.

-Flashback-

"Where the hell is that idiot?" Tsunade demanded. Naruto was two weeks overdue from his mission.

"Um I am not sure madam." Her assistant Shizune said as she set down a huge stack of files onto Tsunade's desk.

"But it's unlike him to take this long. Especially when I gave him such an easy mission." Tsunade lightly smiled at that comment. She had Naruto think he was going to be given A-ranked mission when in reality it was just a C-rank scroll delivery to Wave country. She remembered laughing at him after he had left, but not in a downright mocking manner.

"Perhaps he simply has not checked in yet." Shizune offered. "Whenever he gets back from a mission he always stops and gets some ramen."

Tsunade shook her head. "No, I already had all of his usual haunts checked out and no one has seen him. Some even claimed their profits were down due to his absence. No, something is wrong." Then she pulled out one of the files on her desk. "Team 8 is currently not doing anything. Send them out and find that baka. Maybe he just got lost?"

"We sure hope so, don't we?" Shizune whispered.

"Yeah, we do." Tsunade affectionately agreed.

-End of Flashback-

"On our way to try and find out what was taking Naruto so long to return, as you ordered, we happened to encounter a band of bandits having a fun night. We would have just ignored it and continued on, but we heard something that drew our complete attention." Kurenai started. However out the corner of her eye she saw Hinata's shoulders begin to shake harder.

-Flashback-

"Wait! Stop!" Kiba quietly told his team as they were trying to sneak around a bandit group of about twenty without being seen.

"Did you notice something?" Kurenai whispered.

"I'm not completely sure, but I think I just heard one of those guys mention something about beating a ninja not too long ago."

"Ok, fan out everyone and try to see if this can be confirmed or not." Kurenai told her students, who nodded and spread out to hide in the foliage to spy on the group.

Kurenai herself used a genjutsu to hide against one of the trees and not be seen. She could have made herself look like one, but she didn't want to risk the chance that one of the targets was perceptive enough to notice a new tree appear out of nowhere.

Kiba and Akamaru listened in with their enhanced hearing for anything of interest. Shino used some of his bugs to get a closer look, and Hinata used her byakugan to read their lips and see if they had anything on them that might prove Kiba's claim right. She gasped once she saw one of the members had a damaged Konoha hitai-ate in his pocket.

The bandit held it out before his companions. "Remember this man? A little prize from that stupid blonde leaf ninja." He gloated loudly as he tossed the hitai-ate into the air and caught it.

At hearing that, Hinata tensed up worse than she ever did when being chewed out back home. _'No, it can't be...'_ Her eyes began to well up with tears.

"Stupid is right." Another bandit, most likely drunk, shouted in agreement. "If that's okay fer a ninja village, they must really have let their standards go or somethin'."

"Do you think that was a serious ninja or just some wannabe?" One of the sober men asked.

"Don't know don't care. All that matters is we can honestly say we killed a ninja. Even if we did gang up on a young one in his sleep to do it, but that'll be our little secret." The leader claimed as if that was something to be proud of.

All members of Team 8 were starting to see red. _'They ganged up on a thirteen year old boy while he was sleeping and assaulted him, and act like this? I haven't seen lowlifes this bad in years.'_ Kurenai thought bitterly. Then she tried to give her one female student a sympathetic look._ 'I sure hope they don't say anything worse, for her sake and his.'_

Unfortunately, they did.

"Don't ya think we maybe shoulda cut off the head to prove it?" One of the drinkers asked, looking a little unbalanced.

"Naw, with how dumb that kid acted it would have just been empty space to lug around. This headband is prize enough, and probably smarter." The leader replied.

That apparently was the catalyst for something no one could have expected. Hinata practically erupted from her hiding spot silently fuming and charged at the leader. Everyone was so surprised at this that no one reacted to it, not even her team. Once she got there she swiftly kicked the man in his groin like her foot was a hammer and then juuken'ed his throat until he could barely breathe. And once he was down she moved to the next person in her sight, repeating the same attack. Her eyes were wide with rage and they could see tears streaming down her face.

While her team watched in shock and awe, some of the bandits regained their senses and trying to gang up on the pale-eyed kunoichi. Too much in a rage to retreat into old mannerisms, Hinata used the protective eight trigrams maneuver to defend herself and cause a little more damage to them. When she stopped, over half the group was downed and only a few more remained unharmed. And they didn't know what to do.

"What's the matter? Afraid to fight someone who's actually prepared to fight back? You people are scum." Hinata stated bitterly. Her face a mask of rage and pain.

Before any of them could actually do anything about her, Shino used his bugs to subdue them and Kurenai hit them all in the back of the head, knocking them out. Kiba and Akamaru came out, ready to do more if any of the downed men tried to get up, but for now his focus was more on his teammate. "Holy hell, who are you and what have you done with the real Hinata?" He asked, totally bewildered.

"Not now Kiba. First let's make sure these thugs can't be of any harm and then see if we can get anything confirming out of them." Kurenai ordered as she pulled out some rope. Everyone on the team took some and tied the men up. Once done Kurenai used a small water Jutsu to wake the leader up. Looking down at the leader of the bandits, Kurenai crouched down and locked her eyes with his. "Now... describe this ninja you claimed to have beaten." She asked him calmly.

The bandit looked at her with utter terror in his eye. "Ninja? What ninja?" He said, feigning innocence as soon as he could breathe again.

Kurenai held out the tattered hitai-ate. "The one you got this from. Do you take me for an idiot?" She said, her tone remained the same.

"Uh well I found that and-"

"Stop talking." Kurenai interrupted before she tossed the headband to Kiba "What can you tell me?" She asked her student as he caught it, already having an idea on what the answer would be but wanting confirmation.

Kiba sniffed it and immediately caught the scent of ramen and Naruto's blood. Then he let Akamaru smell it, who after a moment barked in agreement. Kiba looked at his sensei. "This definently has Naruto's scent on it."

Kurenai grabbed the man and held him up in the air. "Where is Naruto? Tell me the truth or I swear to Kami I will make you suffer like never before." She ordered in a very dangerous tone as she shook him.

The bandit grew very afraid. "Wait wait! Ok ok I will tell you everything just don't hurt me." He cried. Kurenai stopped shaking the man and then she dropped him to the ground. The bandit looked at his captors and began to talk. "We were passing through a forest not far from here about a week ago. We saw someone in an orange outfit sleeping up in a tree but not so high we couldn't see him. Some of my men were restless and threw rocks at him for fun and it knocked him out. When he fell we saw the ninja headband and they decided to attack him before he could attack us back."

"I always knew that outfit was bad news." Kiba muttered to himself. He had told Naruto so many times that no one should wear orange.

"And where is this boy now?" Kurenai asked but she already knew the answer.

"We... umm..." The bandit seemed really hesitant to answer and kept adverting his gaze. "I mean after we attacked him… he seemed to wake up... he stared to fight and uh... when his back was turned one of my men kinda hit him across the head; hard." He gulped. "Uh I mean he looked dead…he was bleeding pretty badly…and well we just sorta tossed his body into the ocean an-"

But he could not finish because Hinata jumped on him and began slamming her fist into his face harder and harder. She was screaming at the top of her lungs "DAMN YOU DAMN YOU!" It took the strength of both Shino and Kiba to drag her off the man, whose face looked horrible. His nose was broken, his lower lip split and several of his teeth were gone. Blood was everywhere. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I'LL KILL HIM!" Hinata screamed. And then finally she just burst in sobbing.

"Hat irl ish crazy she hould e locked op." The man said as best he could.

But then Kurenai stared down at him and he shuddered under the gaze of her crimson eyes. "I would not worry about her… because what she did to you will nothing compared to what happens to you when you faces charges for killing a ninja."

-End of Flashback-

Tsunade blinked, she remained the same "Are you telling me that Uzumaki Naruto is-" She seemed to have trouble saying the word 'dead'. She said.

"Hokage-sama we asked assistance of local sea-front town harbors and they sent out any available search boat… and they found nothing. And when we returned to the village I had each of those men interrogated, all of them told the truth. I truly believe that the Leaf Ninja Uzumaki Naruto is dead." She said calmly. And with that she reached into her pocket and pulled out Naruto's headband and placed it on the desk.

Tsunade looked at it for a moment then she reached over and picked it up. "Thank you for your report… you may go now." She said as she turned her chair around.

The members of Team 8 bowed and left, leaving Tsunade alone as she gripped the headband tightly in her hand and whispered quietly. "That idiot." Then the tears began to flow.

* * *

Kurenai had left the group to go speak to Kakashi, leaving Kiba, Shino, and Hinata alone. Hinata was very silent; she had not said a word since they had gotten back, so it was just Kiba and Shino talking.

"It is hard to believe that Naruto is gone." Shino said; his voice as empty of emotion as it always was.

Kiba nodded. "Yeah I know. I always figured that Naruto was too stubborn to die." He said. Hinata's eyes widened. Kiba, not noticing, continued "I mean though he should have been smarter than that. Sleeping in a tree out in the woods, and wearing orange. Orange is a dead giveaway. If he hadn't worn that stupid jack-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Hinata screamed at Kiba and hit him in the back of his head. Her hit wasn't quite as strong as Sakura's would have been but it got the same point across.

Kiba was completely caught off guard by her sudden outburst. "What Hinata-chan? I don't mean to speak ill about the dead but-"

"HE IS NOT DEAD!" The kunoichi cried and ran off.

"Hinata-chan? Wait!" Kiba yelled and attempted to run after her but Shino stopped him.

"Let her go. She needs time." He told him.

* * *

Kakashi walked down the street reading the newest issue of Icha Icha. He just loved his smut books. And he had even heard that they were planning on making it into a movie. He would make sure he was the first person to see it.

"Kakashi." A voice reached him.

The copy cat ninja stopped and turned around seeing Kurenai coming up behind him. He closed his book. "Kurenai how are you" He said as he smiled beneath his mask.

"I'm... just fine Kakashi." She said in a distraught tone which caused him to raise a brow.

"Whats wrong?" He asked.

"Kakashi I have some bad news." She took her friend and told him the dark news, and Kakashi dropped his book onto the ground.

* * *

An hour later, Tsunade sat alone in her office. Just staring out the window, staring into the night. She was holding a bottle of sake not drinking just holding in one hand, and Naruto's hitai-ate in the other.

"And so… my cursed necklace takes another." She said aloud. She had given her necklace to Naruto just has she had given it to her younger brother and her beloved. Both of them had died and she had thought that Naruto could break the curse. But no, now he was gone.

She hated that baka. She hated when he had always called her obaa-chan. She hated his pranks. She hated his idiocy.

And she had loved as if he were her son. She loved his courage. She loved his happy-go-lucky attitude. And she loved his determination to overcome any obstacle no matter the odds against him.

But now he was dead and so was his dream.

Then there was a knock at the door. Tsunade turned around, wondering who would be here at this hour. "Yes, come in." She called. The office door opened and in stepped Hinata. "Oh Hinata?" Tsunade said with surprise as she put the still full sake bottle onto the desk.

"F… forgive me if I am disturbing you Hokage-sama." Hinata said as she bowed.

"Um not at all girl. I was just... uh... looking over some papers." Tsunade lied.

"I would like to ask a favor Hokage-sama." Hinata stated with a great deal of courage in her voice.

"Oh yes of course what it is?" The medical master asked

"I would like Naruto-kun's hitai-ate." She pointed to the headband that was still gripped in Tsunade's hand.

Tsunade looked at it and then at Hinata. "Why do you want it? As a memento?"

Hinata shook her head. "No. I want it so I can someday return it to Naruto-kun."

Tsunade looked at her and then sighed. "Hinata, Naruto is dead an-"

"No he is not." Hinata stated defiantly.

"What?" Tsunade asked skeptically

"I do not believe… no, I _know_ Naruto-kun is not dead." She said calmly.

Tsunade folded her hands and looked at Hinata. "How do you know this?"

Hinata was silent for a moment she seemed hesitant to answer but then she gathered up all of her courage. "I am in love with Naruto-kun. I loved him from the first time I ever saw him." She said boldly and proudly.

Tsunade was taken back by this. She had never expected the heir to the Hyuuga to be in love with a knucklehead like Naruto. "Y… you loved Naruto?"

Hinata nodded "Yes. With every fiber of my being. And I can feel in my heart that he is not dead. Call it instinct or women's intuition or whatever, but I just know he's still alive somewhere." She said.

Tsunade stared at her, not taking her eyes off of Hinata. And then she stood up from her desk and walked over to Hinata and then encompassed the girl in a hug. "I believe you. I believe that Naruto is still alive." Although a more accurate thing might have been 'I want to believe too.'

Then she released Hinata and handed her the hitai-ate. She looked at it for a moment then she tore off her own headband and put on Naruto's in it's place. "Now can you get ahold of Jiraiya-sama?"

"Why?"

"Because he's the only one who'll want to find Naruto-kun as much as we do. And maybe the only one who can."


	5. Chapter 5

_To anyone who felt Naruto getting ganged up last chapter was unrealistic, remember that Naruto was asleep. It's really easy to gang up on someone when they're asleep and also when they're not awake enough to retaliate. Naruto can be caught off guard just as much as anyone else can, and I'm not the only one who's done something like that for the story's sake._

Jiraiya was inside his humble abode, which was a rather small hut on the outskirts of Konoha to bunk in when he actually stayed at the village. He had a number of homes ranging from this to grand houses elsewhere. He usually didn't stay for long though in most of them. So here it just really had a futon, a washroom, a desk with spare writing supplies, and a few other basic necessities for someone like him; including some of his favorite dirty magazines. Of course those magazines were used purely for, in his words, research.

Just when he was about to use the restroom, he heard a knock on his door. Cursing for the bad timing under his breath, he answered it and saw an Anbu. "Jiraiya-sama," The masked ninja said with a quick bow. "Hokage-sama requests your presence at her office at once."

"Okay, I'll be there. Just give me a minute to take care of something first." He stated before closing the door.

When the perverted hermit finally arrived at his former teammate's office, he was a bit later then was normally accepted. He would have been there sooner but he couldn't resist giving a quick pause to look at an attractive woman walking down the streets.

Before he even opened the door though, he could sense the bad mood emitting from within. Oddly enough, it didn't feel overly hostile or destructive as it usually did, making him think Tsunade wasn't actually upset with him, or as likely to take her rage out on him. Oh the memories he had of being used as her punching bag.

He opened the door and waved to Tsunade. "So what's on your mind, Hime?" He said with a casual smile on his face.

Tsunade was sitting behind her desk. Her face was looking stern but not angry. "Jiraiya, how ready is that trip you were about to take Naruto on?" She bluntly asked, trying her hardest to ensure her voice didn't show any sadness just yet. She wanted to tell her teammate the bad news, but needed to know this part first.

Jiraiya blinked in confusion first before answering. "Why? Are you so eager for me to take him now?" He laughed, thinking the blonde fool had finally driven Tsunade to the brink of insanity.

"If you had to, could you?" Tsunade inquired.

Jiraiya thought it over. "I suppose I could. I still need to consult a contact in the Water Country and maybe in one more place, but nothing that really couldn't be done if he was there. Why? I thought I'd give him a little more time to bond with his comrades and try to learn a few extra tricks before I took him out of the village."

"Jiraiya, sit down for this." Tsunade said and gestured to the seat in front of her desk. Jiraiya took his seat and Tsunade continued. "I have two things to tell you, and I don't need you acting up regarding it, like you normally would." Tsunade told him, sounding almost maternally. Like a parent about to tell their child the family pet was dead. Her teammate was slow to react, but he did and she sighed before she said more. "I need you to go on that trip now. Maybe tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest, and I doubt your new pupil will be that patient."

"Yeah, Naruto sure isn't patient. That's one of the things I'll try and teach him." The toad sage remarked offhandedly, only catching a glimpse of Tsunade's pained expression. "Did I say something wrong?" He quickly asked.

The Hokage nodded. "Jiraiya, there's been a slight change of plans. You see, I currently... don't know where Naruto is." She said as she closed her eyes.

"What?"

"He never returned from his last mission, and the retrieval team has reason and evidence to suggest he may have... been killed." Tsunade couldn't prevent one tear from rolling on her cheek.

Jiraiya couldn't believe his ears. He was sure this had to be some sort of joke; He looked around expecting Naruto to just appear and yell 'Surprise'. But Tsunade was a terrible trickster, aside from her appearance. And this was too much to joke about, even if she was trying to mess with him.

"What happened?" He asked, keeping his voice steady.

"According to the report, Naruto was resting for the night when a gang of bandits found him and attacked him before he could fully wake up. They dumped Naruto's body out to sea and kept a hold of his headband as a trophy. The retrieval team encountered them, heard the story as they gloated about it, and beat them up like the scum they were. The headband was retrieved and confirmed as Naruto's but it is currently in someone's custody until further notice." She told him

"So the retrieval team didn't find his body yet?" The old man said with a sigh of relief.

Tsunade nodded. "Correct, and I think we might have felt some amount of the kyuubi's chakra flare up if he did die. Since the evidence is circumstantial, I believe there may still be a chance, however small it is that Naruto Uzumaki is still alive somewhere in the elemental countries. I need you to go out on your trip and find him. No one can do this better than you."

"You can count on me Hime. I'll find the gaki in no time." He told her to cheer her up, because she clearly needed it.

It worked a little bit. "Also, I'm giving you a different student to take with you, to train as you would have trained Naruto until you find him."

This was something Jiraiya didn't expect to have added on. "Another student? Why? Wouldn't that just slow me down?"

"Normally yes, but for the sake of your mission and this genin's well-being I'm insisting you take her along."

"Her? You're actually trusting me with a female student? This must really mean a lot to you."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes but in a nonthreatening way since his words did have validity.

"I'm assigning you to take her along and teach her for a multitude of reasons. One, this particular kunoichi has strong feeling for Naruto. Hearing about his presumed death has taken a heavy toll on her and will affect her greatly. She may even lash out at anyone to relieve her own pain, or maybe die on a mission on purpose to join Naruto in death. As Hokage, I can't allow either. Two, if you do manage to find Naruto alive, I want her to be there when you do so it'll ease both of their minds. Trust me; it will do them wonders to see each other under the circumstances. And three, this particular genin doesn't exactly have the best image in her family so receiving training from a sannin might make her family appreciate her more and thus helping her self-image and her own career."

Jiraiya thought it over. "Exactly who are you describing? Because if it's that pink-haired girl, I gotta say I find that hard to believe." He knew how much Naruto liked that girl, but she seemed to have more affection for the renegade Sasuke. A rather unhealthfully amount of affection.

"No, it's not Sakura. It's Hyuuga Hiashi's first born, Hyuuga Hinata." Tsunade answered.

"Hmm... I suppose Naruto could do worse." The Toad Sage said, remembering the timid girl from before.

"Jiraiya, this is serious. This girl really cares about Naruto, perhaps more than anyone in this village. Whether it's real love or just a strong crush is irrelevant now. This girl honestly may lose the will to live or her freedom to be in public if she stays here surrounded by people who may cheer for her loved one's death." She knew that many of the villagers would love the idea that the container for the Kyuubi was dead. "Taking her with you to find Naruto is the best course of action, because I don't want to see blood on her hands because of all this and if she stays here someone will be die by her hands sooner or later. Either herself or one of Naruto's haters, but it will be inevitable."

"Ok, but what exactly do I do with her once I take her?"

"Do for her what you would have done for Naruto." Tsunade simply replied.

"You mean train her?" Jiraiya said surprised. "Tsunade let's be realistic. The type of training I talk of is not normal. It was the kind that you, I, and Orochimaru did as teammates." Both of them shuddered at the memories of those torturous days. "What about you, can't you train her?" Jiraiya asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "No, I already have Haruno Sakura, and I cannot take on another."

"But the only reason I was willing to do it with Naruto was because of his strong stamina and his chakra reserves that he got from the Kyuubi. I know that the Hyuuga are renowned for their strength, however… I have doubts."

Tsunade folded her hands together and stared intently at Jiraiya. The old man hated that stare. It was her 'I'm-completely-serious-and-don't-say-a-word-' stare. "Very well then, let me put it this way. Do you recall the beating I gave you when I caught you staring at me in the women's bath?"

Jiraiya gulped. "With excruciating detail. Emphasis on the excruciating part. Closest I ever came to dying."

"I want you to imagine that pain but increased 100 times fold. Now imagine that pain being inflicted upon you in real life for three days in a dark room where no one can hear you scream. All of that will become reality unless that girl is taken as your apprentice." She told him.

Jiraiya thought that statement over and then answered. "So her name's Hinata, right?"

* * *

The Toad Sage had left Tsunade's office in hurry before the crazy old women found another reason to make good on her death threat.

After hearing about his newly appointed apprentice, Jiraiya had one more thing to do before it could be declared official. And to him this might have been the hardest part of the whole ordeal: Getting Hiashi to agree to it.

Hyuuga Hiashi did not have the warmest reputation around town. Rumor had it he could activate the dreaded Hyuuga seal with just a glare, but Jiraiya felt that was just hype. The man did once have a wife and currently two daughters; surely he wasn't ice all the way to his core.

While Jiraiya tried to think of the best way to phrase his request, the guards around the estate noticed him approaching and immediately stood at attention. "Do you have any business here, Sannin-sama?" The guard asked, trying his hardest not to sound intimidated by the Sannin.

"Yes, I need to discuss something with Hyuuga Hiashi. Right away."

One guard went inside while the other stayed to defend his post. Neither made any small talk while they waited, so after a tense three minutes Jiraiya was led towards Hiashi's personal study room where he was sitting at a desk, facing his guest rather than the furniture. "Welcome Jiraiya-sama, to what do I owe this visit?" The clan leader asked as he bowed his head.

"Hiashi-san, I need to request something of you. Not of your clan, just you. The rest of the clan has no business in this."

This certainly got Hiashi's attention. "I'm listening." He wondered what kind of request Jiraiya had for him.

"I ask for your approval in taking on your eldest daughter as a pupil. To learn under me for a period of time that may last as long as three years. During which she will be required to be in my care, observation, and protection at all times." The Toad Sage stated formally, hoping this would appeal to the clan head.

Said clan head thought it over carefully. _'Hmm... If I understand him correctly, he wants to take Hinata somewhere with him for a few years. She could be in danger, but being with a sannin will minimize any real risks. And maybe if she actually learns anything from him, then she finally won't be such a blemish to the Hyuuga.' _She had the blood of a noble clan running through her veins and it sometimes sickened him to think that his eldest child and heir could be so weak.

"Can you guarantee she will actually learn anything from you?" Hiashi asked aloud.

_'Some father. Shouldn't he be asking more about what I can do then what she can do?' _Jiraiya quickly thought. "I'm a sannin with years of experience. You can rest assured that I have some tricks up my sleeves that will benefit her."

"And how will this endeavor affect her already abysmal skills? I cannot do this if you'll only end up making her jutsu worse." He asked coldly. He would not allow Hinata to go out if only to embarrass the clan more by learning nothing from under the teachings of a Sannin.

_'Could this guy possibly be more frigid?' _Jiraiya couldn't help but comment to himself, at least now he knew that some rumors around the village had been accurate. "Well Hiashi-san, if that's really what you think, do you actually believe they can get worse?"

"Not unless she were to become crippled or something equally worse."

Jiraiya struggled to not sigh in disappointment. "I can promise she will remain able-bodied, and stronger then you could imagine."

Hiashi thought it over a little more. "Very well then, maybe you can finally make her somewhat of a decent kunoichi. But I will have expectations for when she returns, and they better be met." He then sighed. "Sometimes I wish her cousin Neji had been my son, now he would worthy of the blood and power of the Hyuuga."

"Thank you for your... support." The Toad Sage said before leaving and maybe causing physical damage to something or someone.

When he was out of sight of the Hyuuga compound he shook his head in disgust. How could any father be so cold hearted to their child? No wonder the girl was timid; growing up around a father like that would give anyone low self-esteem.

* * *

Later that evening, Jiraiya headed over to Training Ground 8, where Tsunade told him his new pupil was waiting for him, already packed. He saw her leaning patiently against a tree, using her byakugan to know when he'd arrive. Jiraiya gave Hinata a quick look over and he had to say he was impressed. Her soft white skin, her pale eyes, her nice slim figure, and her dark hair. This girl was attractive… for someone her age. Now if only he could figure out why she was attracted to a knucklehead like Naruto.

"So you think you are worthy to train under the great tutelage of the mighty Toad Sage and powerful Sannin Jiraiya." He stated in his brash blowhard voice as he approached her.

Hinata didn't move. "Not really. But you can help me find Naruto-kun and for that I need your help."

"Then answer me this, child." He said as his finger pointed to Hinata. "What are you willing to do to find Naruto? What are you willing to risk?"

The heiress to the Hyuuga Main House stared boldly at the toad summoner. "I would do anything to find Naruto-Kun. I would travel to the very gates of hell, and I would give my own life for him."

Inwardly the sannin thought about writing this down in his notebook later one. He could turn this into a story. _'Beautiful and devoted girl willing to go to hell itself to find her lost love!'_ It could be his next big hit.

Jiraiya smiled "There is hope for you as my disciple." He said as he placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder. "And don't worry, I believe you that Naruto is alive and we will find him."

Hinata bowed her head "Thank you Jiraiya-sama, now when do we start training?"

Jiraiya laughed "Pick up your bag girl, we leave immediately."

_Next chapter will show how Kakashi and Sakura handle the news of Naruto's 'death', and then we'll get back to Naruto himself for a bit._


	6. Chapter 6

It was truly amazing how fast information could spread, like a wildfire at some points. The next day word about Naruto being pronounced dead had spread throughout most of Konoha, courtesy of several jounin telling other shinobi. As expected, those on the remainder of the Rookie 12 in Konoha who were unaware were shocked and saddened, while the majority of the village felt it was about time. A few parties tried to form on the street, only to be forced to stop by the Anbu and the teaching jounin. Nevertheless, the civilians decided to save it for indoors on their own property that night, to ensure Tsunade and others couldn't punish them.

The three rookie teams that knew Naruto felt bad for him, but not so much they cried for long or at all. Those that did shed tears were Chouji, Lee, and to a lesser extent Ino. Even Shikamaru seemed to fall into some kind of depression. While others felt bad but didn't know him well enough to cry for him or couldn't bring themselves to do it. Their sensei's felt bad but at the same time glad it wasn't one of their students. They hated themselves for thinking that but couldn't help but feel such thoughts were normal for the situation. That didn't make it easier though.

For the remaining two members of Team 7, the story was a bit more complicated.

* * *

Kakashi stood alone in the training ground next to the stone, the stone with names of KIA. The Shinobi of Kohona who had been killed in action. The famed copy cat ninja was here to add Naruto's name. And as he stood there looking at all of the names, he could not help but think that this was his fault.

Kakashi was a failure as a teacher. He had not lost one but two of his students. And he could only blame himself.

He had not trained Naruto as much as he should have. Oh, he had shown him a few tricks but he had never actually taught him anything. Instead he had focused all of his time with Sasuke. He had spent so much time teaching the Uchiha, and why? Because he had thought that Naruto did not have the talent to become a great ninja.

At the time the team was formed, and later was still in the beginning stages, it all made so much sense to him. Sasuke was the only one of his students that actually came from a clan so he therefore had the most talent for it. Sure, Kakashi didn't know who sired Naruto, but surely it couldn't have been someone from a clan or else they would have taken him in. The fact that Naruto was left alone only told Kakashi that he had no significant heritage whatsoever, therefore no real place in the world of shinobi. Much like Sakura, a civilian child who only got involved just so she'd have an excuse to be around her crush. Naruto was probably a similar case, except he wanted an excuse to be noticed instead.

But he had been proven wrong. Clan heritage or not, Naruto had surpassed his expectations. He had defeated the Hyuuga genius Neji. He then stopped Gaara of the Desert from destroying the village. Kakashi had seen the destruction at the Valley of End, the aftermath of Sasuke and Naruto's battle. It looked as if titans had clashed there. The carnage caused by the Chidori and the Rasengan would be around for ages to come, on display for anyone who happened to come across it.

And yet even with his mighty Sharingan eye Kakashi had been too blind to see the potential Naruto had. For a man who claimed to always notice what's 'underneath the underneath', when it came to Naruto all he noticed was the obvious.

And now Naruto was dead, as was his dream.

However Kakashi intended for Naruto's memory to be honored. The masked ninja took out his kunai and began to etch Naruto's name in the rock. 'Maybe he wasn't the model shinobi, but even he doesn't deserve to be forgotten.'

* * *

At the Haruno household, Sakura was in her room. Her door was locked and her shades drawn. Her room had once been a happy place but now one could feel only the aura of sadness and depression that ran through it. All over the floor were pictures that had once adorned the walls. Now they were scattered on the ground like trash.

Sakura simply lay on her bed, lying so still people might have mistaken her for dead had it not been for the trail of tears running down her face. "Naruto…" She whimpered as she clutched one picture in her hand.

_(Flashback)_

_Sakura walked out of Kohona hospital smiling. For the past few weeks she had been working at the hospital as an intern healer. And she was actually doing a decent job at it. She had not been doing anything serious, just healing some small cuts of wounds but her skill was increasing slowly. Tsunade said it would not be long before she was ready to start something major._

_Sakura was considering going down to the flower shop and chatting with Ino. But then suddenly she felt sort of an eerie presence behind her. She turned around quickly expecting to see some kind of pervert but instead she saw something almost worse… Shino._

_"Greetings Sakura." He said as he bowed his head._

_Sakura always felt that Shino was creepy. The way his voice was always so stoic, or how she could never tell what his facial expressions were, and how he had told them he literally had thousands of bugs living inside his body. All that made him not her first or second choice for company. However she did not let those emotions show. She smiled and replied. "Hi Shino, how are you?"_

_"I am just fine thank you, but I have come bearing some news that you might find… unsettling."_

_"What news?" Sakura asked confused._

_"Uzumaki Naruto is dead."_

_Sakura felt as if her heart had just skipped a beat. "What?" She must have misheard him or that he was joking._

_Shino repeated his previous sentence. his tone no different than before. "Uzumaki Naruto is dead."_

_"S-shino that's not funny… d-don't joke like that." Sakura said, still believing what he had said or what she had heard._

_"I do not joke, and even if I did I can't imagine why one would joke on a matter as serious as this." Shino answered._

_Sakura stared at him, looking into his dark shades "Na-Naruto is…d-d-d-de-dead." She choked the last word out in a way only Hinata could top._

_Shino nodded "Yes, he was killed on his mission away. I am sorry." He said as he bowed his head once more then turned and left._

_Sakura stood rooted in her spot hearing his words replay over and over in her mind. "Killed on his mission away, Killed on his mission away, Killed on his mission away." And then the pink-haired girl felt something running down her cheeks. She reached up and touched her face. She was crying. She was crying for Naruto._

_Sakura turned around and began to slowly walk. Then it turned into a fast walk, then she was running. She ran past all of the people who were in front of her pushing them out of her way. The tears continued to fall from her face. She continued running until she reached her house. Her parents weren't home so she ran up the stairs and into her room slamming the door behind her._

_She then looked at her walls. They were covered with pictures. Pictures of her parents, pictures of her at Kohona festival, pictures of her with friends, and of course pictures of Sasuke. So many pictures there were of the famed Uchiha. The boy who had captured Sakura's heart. She had done everything to try and get him to notice her and all he had done was given her a cold uncaring look and move on._

_And then there had been Naruto. He had always been there with a smile on his face when ever he saw her. He had always been willing and ready to spend time with her… only to have his offers refused. He had always asked Sakura to go out on a date with him; and all she had done was call him an idiot and hit him on the head._

_Naruto had done so much for her. He had even sworn to her that he would Sasuke back no matter what, he had looked at her and called her friend. But what kind of friend was she?_

_Sakura then looked on the walls and she realized something. She had no pictures of Naruto. She had pictures of everyone from the Academy… but not one of Naruto. Even Shino was included, albeit in a group photo but nonetheless there._

_Sakura began to tear through the wall looking for a picture with Naruto in it. There had to be one here, she thought desperately as she began tearing down the tacked up pictures. Surely among them there had to be some that had the orange-dressed knucklehead. She pulled down every picture and looked at them, her eyes growing wider and wider. Not one had any sign of Naruto. Not even a part of him nudged into the background._

_It was not until she had come to the last picture, with all the other lying on the floor ignored and forgotten. It was the picture she was looking for._

_It had been taken the day Team 7 had been formed. There was her, Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke and… at the very end where Naruto had been, that end had been folded so it did not show him._

_Sakura took the tack out and unfolded the picture. And there was Naruto. With his goofball smile._

_Sakura, although she had been Naruto's teammate, had never actually thought much of him. She knew he had this crush on her since she had known him. But she had always refused his advances. Still, she would call him a friend and teammate if someone asked her what she thought of him. She still wanted to think of him that way, but now, she could only think of one thing when that thought went thru her mind: What kind of friend alters the one photo they have of their friend so they don't have to look at them?_

_Sakura then felt the tears well up in her eyes again. She now knew that she had lost perhaps the one person who had truly cared and loved her. Or at least, the one non-relative who showed it._

_"Oh… Naruto." She whispered as she hugged the picture to her._

_And then she wept harder… harder then the day Sasuke had left, for reasons she didn't comprehend and yet felt she should._

_(End Flashback)_

Sakura had no idea how long she lied there on her bed; time had no meaning that day or night. But the sound of her mother downstairs the next morning was enough to snap her out of her funk. Sakura at first wanted to go downstairs and tell her the bad news that her other teammate was gone, but the moment she placed her foot on the ground she froze.

_'Wait, telling Mom won't be a good idea, would it? I mean, she never liked him and was so mad when she heard he was my teammate in the first place. But since then he's helped me out a lot and shown he's not a horrible person. Mom should understand this is a big deal to me, shouldn't she?_'

She didn't feel as confident as she wanted to, but did feel she had to say something to someone.

Sakura went downstairs and saw her mother setting up breakfast. And it was her favorite kind too in good quantity. Fortunately by now Tsunade had been able to get the point across to her pupil that diets were bad ideas for kunoichis so Sakura ate regularly again. After sleeping thru dinner last night and smelling the wonderful aroma in the dining room, Sakura was suddenly starving.

"Good morning Mom." Sakura said with a hint of tiredness still in her voice.

"Good morning sweetheart." Haruno Aina greeted her daughter in the most chipper and happy voice Sakura had ever heard.

"You seem to be in a good mood mother." Sakura said wondering what she had missed.

"Many of the villagers are in a good mood my dear." Aina said as she finished setting the table.

"Why…what happened?" Sakura asked completely confused.

"The Demon is dead." Her mother answered, her smile never faltering.

"A demon? What demon?"

Aina paused for a moment looking both ways as if checking to make sure no one heard her. "Well I guess there is no sense in hiding it anymore since he is dead. The demon I am referring to was the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi died years ago Mom, we celebrate it's death every year." Sakura answered thinking her mother had gone mad.

Aina shook her head "No, my sweet daughter, it did not. The wretched beast lived on… as Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura felt as if her brain had snapped in half. Naruto… the Naruto who had come in dead last at the Academy but still graduated. The Naruto who had pulled hundreds of pranks in the people of the village, none lethal but most humiliating. The Naruto whom had sworn to become Hokage… had been the Kyuubi?

"Th… that is impossible." Sakura stuttered. There was no way Naruto could have been such a terrible beast.

"It is not impossible. You see Sakura, the Fourth did not kill the Kyuubi. So instead he chose to seal it inside an orphaned child. And then the Honorable Third… although I will never understand why, allowed the child to live. He then passed a decree that no one was to ever speak of the event to anyone. Not even our children. But we did try to make it so none of you got close to that monster."

Suddenly things began to fall into place for Sakura. She felt a horrible knot forming in her stomach. She remembered a day when she had been a little girl with her mother walking down the street… and she had seen a group of villagers throwing stones at a little blonde boy. She remembered her mother muttering under her breath 'Damned demon.'

Now she understood why Naruto had been treated so badly by all of the people, why he had been avoided as if he was some kind of disease. It was because people were afraid of something that was not there. They thought that the jailer was the criminal.

Sakura then looked back at her mother who was still smiling happily, oblivious to her daughter's pain. "Well, at least we will no longer have to worry about that wretched monster. Because it is finally dead."

Sakura mumbled something.

"What was that sweetheart?" Aina asked.

"Naruto was not a monster." She said as she looked up at her mother who had a confused expression. "He was not a demon, or a beast, he was not the Kyuubi. He was just a innocent person who was treated horribly and abused. The only monsters are the people who hurt him, like you Mom."

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!" Aina screamed at her daughter, wondering what gotten into Sakura. Normally her daughter was such a good girl.

"NO, NARUTO HAD DONE NOTHING TO DESERVE WHAT HE GOT! HE WAS A HUMAN BEING DAMMIT! AND YOU'RE THROWING A DAMNED PARTY TO CELEBRATE HIS DEATH?"

Aina stared at Sakura, and then a sneer formed on her face. "Since when did you care about him? I seem to remember you saying that he was a annoying little freak and you wished he would just leave you alone."

Sakura fell silent and hung her head. It was true. She had insulted him, degraded him, and hit him so many times that if she ever had bothered to count, she would have lost track years ago. she had treated Naruto with little more respect than a punching bag. So why did all this bad news hurt her so much?

One thing that really bothered Sakura was that had she heard this info about Naruto a few months ago, she might have been inclined to agree with her mother. But two things prevented her from doing so. One, the fact that her sorrow for him had opened her eyes more to his actions, actions that did not in any way say he was a rampaging creature in human form. And two, Tsunade had showed her a few of the basics of sealing, so naturally Sakura was smart enough to see that a scroll wasn't the same thing as what was inside it. That would be like saying the sheath is the sword.

Thinking this over, Sakura raised her head to respond. "Maybe I wasn't the nicest person, but at least I never tried to kill him, and I did have the perfect opportunity for that once. Can you say you never tried to kill him either?"

Aina looked shocked. "You had the chance? When?"

"When Kakashi-sensei tested us. Naruto was tied up and Sasuke-kun was trapped in the ground. Kakashi-sensei told me to kill Naruto or else he'd kill Sasuke-kun. But you know what? I couldn't. It didn't feel right." Sakura explained, feeling prouder about her choice now for some reason.

Aina however was livid. "WHAT THE HELL? YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY EVERY ONE OF US HAS WANTED TO GET RID OF THAT SCUM AND DO IT LEGALLY BUT YOU PASSED IT UP? WE COULD HAVE GAINED SO MUCH BY BEING THE FAMILY THAT DID AWAY WITH THE KYUUBI AND YOU PISSED THE CHANCE AWAY? ARE YOU A COMPLETE IDIOT?"

Sakura frowned, this time more angered by her mother's outburst than saddened. "No, you're the idiot if you think Naruto was the Kyuubi Mom."

"DON'T YOU-" Aina started to scream, but was cut off by Sakura slapping her.

"JUST SHUT UP AND THINK ABOUT IT FOR A MOMENT! NARUTO WANTED TO BECOME HOKAGE, SO WHY WOULD HE WANT THAT IF HE WAS THE KYUUBI? AND WHY WOULD HE SAVE MY LIFE IF HE WAS ONLY GOING TO KILL US ALL LATER ON? AND YOU YOURSELF SAID JUST A MOMENT AGO THAT THE FOURTH SEALED IT INSIDE A CHILD? WHAT WOULD BE THE POINT OF THAT IF THE KYUUBI TOOK OVER THE CHILD'S BODY?"

Aina had been stunned silent by the slap, but soon refound her voice. "So we could kill it once and for all obviously."

"If that's what the Fourth wanted, wouldn't he have told the Third that?" Sakura countered.

Aina scoffed. "The Third was a senile fool."

Sakura frowned, knowing she wouldn't be able to change her mother's mind now or anytime soon. "I'm going out for a walk."

"Good. Maybe the fresh air will get that nonsense out of your head." Aina remarked bitterly.

Sakura said nothing as she headed outside, having no idea where to go, just needing to be away at the moment.

She walked and walked and all the time she thought. Thought about things that up until now would have simply been overlooked or pushed aside. Like how Naruto's life must have been such a miserable and lonely one. And how many times had his life been threatened by the people whose fear caused unwarranted hatred

And yet Sakura could not remember a time Naruto did not have a smile upon his face whenever she saw him. It made her sick to think how much abuse Naruto must have hidden behind that smile, and even sicker to think she believed he had to have been a simpleton to have such an attitude. After all, Sasuke suffered a great tragedy and wallowed in it for years, so she thought anyone else suffering would naturally do the same. The fact that Naruto didn't must have meant he was just fine, albeit naive.

Now that she thought about it all, she couldn't help but admire Naruto. For that blonde prankster to have enough courage and strength to keep on going on, even when people kept trying to bring him down. To not look back and just keep moving forward and growing stronger. To not sulk in his misfortune like Sasuke had done. It would be inspiring to anyone. Anyone that didn't blindly hate him that is.

Sakura stopped and a small smile crept onto her face "Goodbye Naruto, I am sorry I wasn't a better friend and teammate to you. I hope wherever you are that you can forgive me. And... you were one of the strongest people I knew."

Sakura then continued her walk, feeling that she would not be retuning home today.


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay Naruto-san, before we get you started on any actual missions or specific training routines, let's see what you can already do." Kasumi said to her new student after he and her old one had come back to the training ground. Now that they had gotten past the meeting with each other it was time to get serious.

"Umm... I don't really know anything, sensei." Naruto meekly admitted. "I was told by the mizukage's experts that my body shows I was a ninja once, but I can't recall any actual experience being one."

"That's why I've got something up my sleeve to jumpstart your muscle memory at least." Kasumi replied.

"Muscle memory?" Naruto arched an eyebrow, completly oblivious to the term's meaning.

"Yes. You see, when you do an action repeatedly over a long period of time, your body actually remembers how to do it on its own. That way, some actions don't even require direct thought to control." She saw that he didn't quite get it. "You know how to walk right?" He nodded. "But do you bother thinking about which leg is moving or how fast?" He shook his head. "That's because the memory for walking is stored in your leg muscles as well as your mind, so you never really forget how to do it."

"Sort of like riding a bike?" Naruto asked.

"Exactly. Now, what we're going to do here is let you and Shiori-san here have a light spar to see how your body reacts. Because of the circumstances Shiori-san, use only taijutsu and go easy on him until I say otherwise." Kasumi continued, and her student nodded in understanding before handing her sensei her sheathed sword. "Naturally Naruto-san you're going to be on the defensive at first. And that's okay to start, but I'd like to see you make an offensive attempt if you can."

Naruto looked uneased for a moment. "But... isn't it a bad idea to hit girls?"

Kasumi scoffed and shook her head. "We're ninja; there is no such thing as a dirty fight to us. Save the chivalry for the nobles and the samurais. But, when you're not on duty and around most people, that is a good principle to have. Now get ready."

Shiori got into a ready stance with her fists in front of her at midtorso level and her feet apart. Naruto tried to mimic it, making Kasumi arche an eyebrow but remained silent. _'Ok, so he doesn't have a style he would naturally fall into a stance of. Taijutsu may not be this kid's specialty.'_ "Ready? Begin." She ordered.

Shiori made the firt move naturally. And she didn't bother going at it with her full skill, mostly because of Kasumi's orders and her own interest in seeing what her new teammate could respond with. However that did not mean she would go too easy on him. So she moved at academy speed rather than experienced genin speed and left herself an opening intentionally, mostly to goude him into retaliating and testing his strength.

Naruto did the only thing that came to mind when she got close to him. He stepped to his right side and did a karate chop to the back of her neck, making her stumble and fall to her knees. More out of surprise than pain.

"Ok, didn't see that coming." Kasumi muttered under her breath. _'Kid might need more motivation and stimulation to trigger any professional response.'_ "Ok, now the two of you try again."

Shiori and Naruto got into position again, and Kasumi signaled them to start. Shiori charged at Naruto again, and she wasn't going to be affected by that manuever twice. When she got close enough to punch Naruto, he stepped aside in the opposite direction this time. Anticipating another sneak attack, Shiori swung her left leg to get him in his side. Naruto countered with a sweeping kick that hit her right leg and knocked her on her backside since she lost all balance just then.

Kasumi, for the first time, looked impressed. _'Not bad. Not professional, but he does seem to have a knack for catching his opponent offguard and unaware, which is a perfect trait for a ninja to possess. Or maybe he's just gotten lucky. Better try a few more times.'_ "Ok, so far so good, but we need to see more. Try again."

This continued for the next two hours. In that time Naruto didn't get a scratch on him while Shiori got a little worn out and a few grass stains on her clothes. And yet Naruto hadn't actually punched her yet. She did get a few good hits in, but Naruto showed he had the endurance of a jounin level ninja. Too bad he had yet to display any strategy or style fitting even a genin.

Kasumi finally clapped her hands together. "Alright enough, stop." She ordered. Naruto and Shiori halted their attacks and stood to listen to their sensei. Kasumi placed her hands behind her back and she stared at both of her students "Well then, it is clear that Naruto can do some basic hand-to-hand combat."

Shiori scoffed "Yeah, let's take him over to the Academy. The cadets on the playground fight better than this clown."

Naruto looked over at her with a frown "Hey! I knocked you down didn't I?"

Shiori looked over at her teammate, her expression unchanged. "That was luck and nothing more. If this had been real combat and I your enemy, I could have taken you down before you even had time to blink." She said in a deadly serious voice.

Kasumi then interrupted before it could continue. "You are most likely right Shiori-san. However we are a team, not enemies. Now then I would like to try something a bit... different now."

"Different? How?" Shiori asked.

"Let's step it up a notch." Kasumi said with a grin. "No weaponry, but now I will allow you to use jutsu, both of you. Let's see what responses this triggers."

Shiori wickedly smirked at Naruto. "Now this is going to hurt."

Naruto meanwhile just looked worried, since he was drawing a complete blank on this subject. _'Crap, I've got nothing, and Kasumi-sensei should know that. Is she trying to turn me into a punching bag here?'_

Without waiting for him to be ready, Shiori made three hand signs and called out a jutsu name. "Waterstyle: Water Bullet Jutsu." An orb of water shot out of her mouth and hit Naruto right in the chest, making him lose his balance and fall down. "Ha! Got you."

Naruto immediately got back on his feet. "That was no stronger than a water balloon. You're going to have to do better than that."

"You want better? Try this." Shiori barked back, starting a new set of handsigns. "Waterstyle: Kappa Lilly Jutsu." She then spat out several smaller water bullets at him, adjusting her aim before each one. Basically it was a water version of the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, and had similar effects to the Water Bullet Jutsu just with more in quick succession.

Naruto dodged all but one waterball, and didn't fall down. "You call that better? Getting me wet?"

"Well, if I had my sword on me you'd be in pieces. And I'm still learning too you know." Shiori responded. "I do got something that should surprise you, but I was hoping to see you try something first."

Naruto shrugged. "Sorry. I told you girls I don't know anything. At least not off the top of my head."

"Maybe you should show him your trump card Shiori-san." Kasumi stated. "If nothing else it'll show this newbie what to expect from you if he gets out of line."

Shiori nodded in understanding, and readied for her best jutsu. "Waterstyle: Seasnake Jutsu." Out of the ground around herself emerged three anaconda-sized snakes made purely of water and some dirt that got washed up into the jutsu. Two immediately slithered thru the air to constrict Naruto and looked ready to bite off his head at any signal, while the third reminded near Shiori in a defensive way. "Just try and get out of that before I let them finish."

Naruto felt afraid, and saw his sensei was just standing there watching him. _'Am I gonna die? I can't handle this. Someone, help me.'_

Then everything went black to him.

* * *

For the briefest of moments, Naruto felt as if the universe itself had just… stopped. Only a second ago Shiori had been coming at him with her jutsu and now he was… nowhere.

Well not exactly nowhere. He was somewhere, but it felt like nowhere. He was in a void. A void of empty darkness. There was no light yet he could see clearly, it was not cold and yet his body shivered.

"Hello" He called out. "Is anyone there?" His voice did not even echo. Naruto began to look around wildly trying to learn his location. But there was nothing, nothing at all, just an empty void. "Oh Kami, I'm dead, oh great Kami I died didn't I? I died and this is hell." Naruto said to himself. He was about to have a complete nervous breakdown when-

**"No, little one, you are not in Hell. However sometimes it feels like it is." **A powerful feminine voice said from behind.

Narutos entire body froze instantly. His eyes were wide with shock and fear. Naruto turned around slowly and what he saw filled him with terror and dread.

He was staring into a giant set of glowing red eyes.

**"Well child? Aren't you going to say anything?" **It asked. Naruto tried to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. The red eyes narrowed a bit. **"Hmmm, a bit shocked and confused aren't we? Well let us change that."**

Then as if someone had turned on a switch the darkness was replaced with powerful light. Naruto had to blink several times in order to see properly. And even after that he blinked several more times to make sure what he was seeing was real.

Naruto was looking at a giant, no an enormous red fox. A fox that had to the size of a mountain. This fox was behind the bars of a cage, and from behind that cage the fox stared back at Naruto.

**"Come on now boy, say something. I know you can." **She said with a large fang filled grin.

Naruto then said the only thing that came to his mind "Who… who are you?" He asked, his voiced stuttered a bit.

The female fox laughed, it was a dark loud laugh that seemed to shake the ground that Naruto stood upon. **"Who am I? Who am I? I am the Kyuubi. I am the Nine-Tailed Fox, the most powerful being alive, the embodiment of raw power. And I also am your… guardian, Naruto." **She said and her smile seemed to grow.

"Y... you know who I am?"

The fox nodded her massive head. **"I have been with you since the day you were spawned and brought forth into this... pitiful world. Which is why I am going to help you."**

That caught Naruto's attention. "Then you must know about my past! You can tell me who I really am!" The blonde's voice was filled with great hope.

The fox nodded again. **"I could indeed tell you young one, but I will not."**

Naruto's hope fell. "But you… you just said-"

**"You are not ready to know about your past yet, I have been watching your progress in this place, and you have a great opportunity here. I intend to see that you take it."**

Naruto was completely confused. Here he was talking to a giant fox who knew about his past. Part of him felt that should not listen to her, that he should leave; if only he knew how. However that part of him was the minority. While the majority was more interested in listening to what this creature had to say.

"And how... can you do this?"

The Fox's smile grew even wider. **"I offer you power and knowledge. Knowledge of jutsu's that you know before you lost your memories, as well as several that you will be completely new to you to motivate you more. And power, I shall give some of my chakra, from which even a tiny bit could reduce a great mountain to a pile of dust."**She said with great deal of pride in that last sentence.

Naruto could feel a bit of excitement forming inside of him. If he could learn how to do jutsus then he could become a stronger member of his team. And he could show Shiori that he knew how to go on the offensive. "What must I do... in order to achieve this?" He asked as he walked a bit closer to the bars, now unafraid.

The Kyuubi turned her eyes and Naruto followed her gaze. Something was coming out of ground outside the cage. It was a large scroll. Naruto walked over to the scroll, he picked it up and opened it.

**"That my young kit is the Contract of the Fox's. If you make a mark on it with your blood, you shall wield more power then you could possibly imagine. And as a bonus, in time I shall return your memories to you. Little by little, to avoid overwhelming your mind. More benefits will come, but I'll tell you about that later." **Naruto simply stared at the contract. **"Now, do we have a deal?" **The Kyuubi asked.

Naruto was silent for a moment then he looked at the fox with a smile on his face. He brought his thumb up to mouth and then he bit down hard, drawing blood. "You got a deal Fox." Naruto said, and he made his mark.

**"Splendid. By the way, for your own well-being, it won't be a good idea to go around telling anyone about me. It will only cause problems for you. Don't even tell your team unless I say otherwise."**

"I... guess." Naruto answered.

**"Now, I'll give you some knowledge to start off with. This should help you with your new partners. Show them what you've got, which is actually only a fraction of all I can give you."**

Everything then faded away to white for Naruto.

* * *

To everyone else, it looked like Naruto was zoned out for a few seconds. Kasumi was worried, but Shiori took it as a sign he was in awe of her might and proceded to give him a taste of it. It wouldn't be lethal, lest Kasumi be upset, but it should get the point of the jutsu across to him. One water snake engulfed his head while the other bit onto his abdomen, which should have been quite painful.

In that instance, Naruto turned into a stray log, catching Kasumi and Shiori by surprise. _'Wow, so he knows the substitution. Hopefully now he can do more.'_

All three watersnakes faded away back to ordinary water as Shiori tried to see where her new teammate was. "Where are you hiding?" She shouted. _'Wait, when the hell did he even move, no one is that fast?'_

All of a sudden a hundred Naruto's came out of hiding and surrounded both girls. "You wouldn't really expect an enemy to answer that question would you?" They all asked simultaneously.

"What the hell?" Shiori and Kasumi asked.

The clones swarmed Shiori, who couldn't defend against them all. She got some of them to vanish, realizing in the process that they weren't illusions but real. When the smoke cleared, she was being held to the ground with her arms pinned behind her by two clones, two more pinning down her legs, and another pinning down her neck with his foot, only applying the smallest amount of pressure to do so. "You give up?"

Shiori gritted her teeth, hating what she was about to admit. "Fine, this time. But I'll win next time." She told him.

_'Naruto, you're just full of surprises aren't you?'_ Kasumi asked herself with a satisfied grin.


	8. Chapter 8

Within the walls of Konoha plenty of people were in a good mood. However, those that weren't were starting to seek each other out for the sake of decent company. This was mostly the remainder of the Rookies that were still in Konoha, which was now just Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. At first everyone but the pink-haired kunoichi were together outside the academy to mourn their fallen friend Naruto the day after they heard the news. And currently, only Lee, Chouji, and Ino were shedding tears for him, but the others looked no less saddened.

They sat down in the area where they would play during their breaks from class, specifically near the swing they knew Naruto would go to when depressed and lonely. Somehow it made them feel a little connected to him again. They said nothing, having no idea what to say, but inside their heads their minds were going a mile a minute.

Kiba was sitting at the base of a tree with Akamaru on his lap. The dog nin reflected on his small friendship with Naruto back when they were younger. Technically they never stopped being friends. Missions and team exercises just got in the way of their free time and personally Kiba didn't want to spend each afternoon at the same ramen stand, even if he thought the girl that worked there was hot. Kiba wasn't always the nicest friend to Naruto, what with the taunting and everything when they were kids, but they did have fun together at times. And he didn't fret over his lose to Naruto in the chuunin preliminaries either. The blonde beat him fair and square, even if Kiba preferred to forget how he did it.

Shino stood against the tree next to his teammate, looking as stoic as ever but his shoulders were obviously slumped and his sunglasses were down a bit, making his eyes somewhat visible. Naruto was never someone he would call a friend, but he was an admirable ally and someone who made a mission memorable for sure. Probably the most memorable one by far was the one were Shino had been given a drug that made him laugh uncontrollably. Naruto showed a lot more strength than Shino gave him credit for in his role on that mission, and even though the blonde needed some 'convincing' to keep the bug user's behavior a secret, he had done so. Since then he had more faith in Naruto as a comrade; he was one of the few people Shino could completely trust

Neji leaned against the wall of the building, trying to look dignified while lamenting the loss of his fellow shinobi. His first impression of Naruto had not been a favorable one. He only won against Kiba because of chance circumstance and against himself because Neji underestimated his limitations. But in retrospect those were important things shinobi needed to consider. Naruto reminded the Hyuuga that ninja shouldn't rely on talent alone and that you shouldn't give up just because the odds aren't in your favor. Also, Neji could admit that many of the missions he went on recently with Naruto may not have gone as smoothly as liked but always got the intended result, so he had to respect Naruto's contribution.

Lee stood next to the swing set, looking at the ground with his fists balled up, as if ready to hit something. He had always been an emotional guy, seeing no reason to mask himself unless it was vital for the mission or something. Lee respected Naruto because he was a kindred soul, a dead last that few gave much hope for but strove to prove that even a dead last can have great accomplishments. Naruto had almost as much spirit as Lee did and the taijutsu enthusiast knew he could trust Naruto with his life at any time. To hear Naruto didn't have a life anymore... had a big impact on him.

Tenten stood beside Lee and patted his shoulder in an effort to calm his troubled self, a single tear in the corner of her own eye. She understood his pain well. After all, she and Lee were orphans just like Naruto so they had a common bond none of their friends could relate to. Tenten knew Naruto when they were younger and once she got adopted she invited him over for dinner once in a while, fortunately her adoptive parents didn't have a problem with him. In fact, the only reason they didn't adopt him too was because they couldn't afford to support two kids, or at least that was the excuse they gave. So in a way Naruto might have been her brother under different circumstances, so even if he wasn't, the pain of his death hurt no less.

Ino sat on one of the swings, staring off into space with wet eyes. She didn't understand at all why she was crying for the blonde. She never really liked him, but nor did she hate him. She admitted at times he was funny and lively and could make her laugh. His eyes were soothing and his hair was exotic, even if his choice in attire was grotesque. And his behavior often proved irritating, but all the others complimented his skills when on missions. She personally had the least amount of experience with him on missions so she couldn't say for sure what she thought of his abilities, but she did admit what he showed in the chuunin exams made her believe he did have more going for him than she first suspected. So even though she didn't understand why she was crying, she did know she would miss him.

Shikamaru sat down at the base of a tree next to Kiba opposite Shino, looking at the clouds in an attempt to find peace. It wasn't coming, and that was really troublesome. He remembered the mission to retrieve Sasuke, and how much Naruto risked to try and get it done. Shikamaru found it difficult to believe that Naruto could survive that but not whatever it was that got him this time. Maybe Naruto's luck finally ran out. He didn't want to sound apathetic to the blonde's death, because he was anything but, but he did want to try and accept it. Hopefully he could skill over the other steps when it came to dealing with death, steps like denial, anger, depression, and bargaining. He saw the others were all in various stages already.

Chouji sat next to Shikamaru with an open bag of chips but eating slowly for once. He had a few good memories with Naruto, mainly sneaking out to get a bite to eat. The best memories were the eating contests they had together when the meal was ramen, the only time someone outside his own family actually would and could give him that challenge. He remembered the time he, Naruto, and Sakura had to make ramen to help out the Ichiraku's, and the time he, Naruto, and Hinata helped out the princess of Land of Greens. All good times and they did more than just remind him of Naruto.

"Hey, has anyone seen Hinata or Sakura?" Chouji asked all of a sudden, being the first to notice their absence.

The others looked around, suddenly aware of the lack of two kunoichi. Kiba sniffed and spoke up. "Sakura's on her way this way. I don't smell Hinata-chan though."

Ino got up and walked towards the street, where she saw her at-times friend. "Hey Sakura." She said calmly with a light wave.

Sakura headed her way, her eyes red from crying so much, and noticed similar eyes on the platinum blonde girl. "Hi Ino, glad I found you. I really need a friend now."

"We're all here. Come on." Ino told her. Both girls noticed the lack of their insulting nicknames from the other, which told a lot about their mood.

They walked back to their friends. "Hi guys. I take it you all heard the news?" They all nodded. "Where's Hinata? I figured she'd be the first one here."

"We're not sure. Maybe it hurts too much to be out in public now." Shino suggested. "She took the revelation hard and needs time to heal." His voice still as empty as ever

"I'm not so sure." Neji interjected. "I heard from her father that she's gone away for a time to, in his words, _'finally become useful'_."

"What does that mean?" Ino asked.

"I don't know, but I'm sure she's working thru her own grief as well."

Sakura sighed. "Guys, I just found out something about Naruto I think you need to know." Everyone turned to look at her. "Only problem is I'm not sure I can tell you just yet. My mother... did say there was a law about it, so I'm going to ask Tsunade-shisou about it soon." Everyone caught how she choked when she mentioned her mother.

"A law against Naruto?" Lee said, shocked by the concept. He like many others knew that Naruto had not been the most liked amongst the villagers. Their current behavior was glaring proof that they had something against him. But a law passed against him specifically, now that sounded insane. As insane as people celebrating the death of a thirteen year-old.

"What law is this?" Neji asked.

Sakura was about to open her mouth when seemingly out of nowhere Tsunade appeared. "I shall answer that." The female Hokage said.

Every ninja there gave a brief bow to their village's leader. "Tsunade-sama, what brings you here?" Tenten asked.

"I've been keeping an eye on especially all of you. I'm not that surprised by the civilian's reactions to the news, but your own were the ones I most wanted to observe."

"Why us?" Shino asked.

The Fifth Hokage looked at each one of teens, closed her eyes and sighed. "Ignorance is bliss I guess, and for thirteen years we have kept the younger generations of this village, i.e. you and anyone younger, in the dark about a topic that was best left closed, but now it is time to know the truth."

Nobody but Sakura knew what she was talking about, so while she sadly looked away they listened intently. "Thirteen years ago the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, battled against the Kyuubi. And the Fourth won that battle; he destroyed the Kyuubi at the cost of his own life." Tsunade told them.

Everyone but Sakura had a confused look upon their face, for this was basic knowledge they had been told when they were children. She might as well have been telling them the story of Santa Claus.

Tsunade sighed once more, as if this was difficult for her to admit, and then continued. "That story is a lie, the Kyuubi was actually not killed. Instead, to ensure it never could hurt anyone again, it was sealed inside the body of a newborn baby. Uzumaki Naruto."

In that moment right there, for nine teens, it seemed as if the entire world had suddenly gone dead silent.

"Rest assured, Naruto and the Kyuubi were and always have been two separate entities. Kyuubi was just trapped inside Naruto unable to do anything to him. The Fourth Hokage designed the seal specifically to ensure the demon couldn't control Naruto but Naruto could make use of it's chakra when he needed it." Tsunade continued. "However, the vast majority of the people in this village felt that Naruto either was extremely likely to be controlled by the fox at any moment, or he was the actual fox from the very beginning." She paused to grit her teeth and continued angrily. "Apparently a bunch of civilians, clan figures, and some shinobi believed they know sealing better than the Fourth himself."

She saw each one of them absorb this information, and could only hope they took it the right way.

Kiba looked like he had just discovered Akamaru had been a cat the whole time. Shino didn't look any different, but the buzzing of his hive gradually got louder. Neji hadn't been this surprised since he read his father's statement to him after the chuunin exam finals. Lee looked like he was about to have a total emotional breakdown, and either shout in anger or punch something until it break. Tenten thought she had run out of tears, but this revelation just proved her wrong. Ino brought her hands to her face, trying to contain a new sob she felt brewing. Shikamaru, for the first time in a long time, felt the urge to hit something. Chouji dropped his bag of chips and felt like vomiting. Sakura just looked down and cried a little more.

Shikamaru spoke first. "Hokage-sama, you mean to tell us that people here believed that Naruto, the same Naruto that could barely pass the Academy, that fought to protect Konoha during the Oto/Suna invasion rather than help destroy it, that constantly strived to become Hokage himself one day, was a mountain-sized city-destroying nine-tailed beast in human form?"

Tsunade sadly nodded. "Yes. Sounds stupid doesn't it?"

"It's beyond stupid. It's downright inhumane." Lee said.

Tsunade nodded again. "Yeah, it is. The Third tried to give Naruto a normal life, by passing a law that said no one would be allowed under penalty of death to say a word of this to their children. Even Naruto didn't know his condition until the day he became a ninja from what he told me."

"Wait a minute." Sakura interrupted. "You mean Naruto had to go thru the mistreatment and loneliness without even knowing why until he was twelve?"

The slug sannin nodded again. "Yes. It must have been really hard on him, growing up with no family, no friends because you were all told to stay away from him, no teachers who wanted him to learn anything, and everyone who claimed he should be killed or turned into a mindless weapon day after day."

The words 'no friends because you were all told to stay away from him' made Sakura have a headache for a moment, like something was hitting her internally. "The law did not die with the Third, but some people may believe it did die with Naruto. I still have to check the law books to confirm this or not."

"Tsunade-shishou, my mother... told me about Naruto-kun being connected to the fox. Does this mean you may have to kill her?" Sakura asked. Everyone caught her new reference to Naruto and was surprised she just said something only Hinata would have said before. Even she was surprised by it.

"I'm sorry Sakura, but it may come to that." Tsunade said, however she sounded a bit unsure.

"Hokage-sama, does Hinata-sama know of this?" Neji asked.

"I don't know Neji. I wouldn't be surprised if she did though."

"Where is Hinata by the way?" Ino asked. "Neji said she's not here anymore so did you send her somewhere?"

"I did, and... she's in good hands." Tsunade answered. She looked at all of the young ninjas and sighed once again. "I guess I will leave all of you, to talk amongst yourselves." She said as she vanished and a puff of smoke.

Everyone simply stood there in utter silence, none of them really knowing what to say until finally Shikamaru broke the silence. "Damn them all." And for once he sounded genuinely angry. "Damn them all, damn every last villager that's celebrating right now! Naruto did not deserve that, he did not deserve such a lonely life!" Shikamaru said as he kicked a loose stone out of the ground.

"No wonder he smiled all of the time, he was probably masking his own pain." Neji added as he leaned against the tree. "And here I thought he was just being ignorant the whole time."

"Well… maybe some of their fears were justified." Kiba said out of nowhere, suddenly all eyes turned to him.

"How can you say that?" Ino demanded.

Kiba held up his hands defensively. "Hey look, I remember the stories my mom told me about the Kyuubi, how it could flatten entire mountains with just a swipe of one of it's tails. I mean, if such a dangerous creature was sealed inside Naruto, sure people would be afraid that it might take over his bo-" However he got no further because Lee punched the dog nin right in his jaw.

Kiba fell to the ground and Lee stood above him huffing, tears rolling down his face. "Say nothing of the sort. Naruto was a good person, and he would never allow such an awful beast to take control of his body."

Kiba sat up and rubbed his sore and possibly fractured jaw. He glared daggers at Lee and when he got up looking like he was about to strike back everyone else moved behind Lee. Kiba stared at all of them and then huffed. "Whatever, I didn't say he was a bad guy, did I? But I bet if he _was_ still alive and you all knew the truth, none of you would be acting as you are now. You would all be avoiding him like before, but with an excuse now." He spat as he turned and left, Akamaru following behind.

When he left everyone began to think. _'Was he right?'_ It was one thing to think about a dead man, they would never be asked to prove anything regarding Naruto anymore. But if Naruto was still alive and if they all knew the truth, would they still be calling him a friend? Or would their views of the blonde-haired prankster turn into that of a fox demon?

For that none of them could be certain.


	9. Chapter 9

It was the first day after Hinata had left Konoha with Jiraiya to find Naruto and prove he was still alive somewhere. No actual training had occurred yet outside Hinata's normal morning routine to get her body ready for the day. She had a feeling today he would start his teachings and had used yesterday to mainly get them some distance from the village for it.

Jiraiya had them stick to the road at first but now had led his new student into the woods. He eventually found a few stumps as a result of some fight long ago and sat down comfortably on one of them. Hinata however continued to stand. "Go ahead girl, sit down. What I've got to say may take a while, so get comfy."

Hinata quietly sat on a stump and looked at him. "What is it, Jiraiya-sensei?"

The old pervert chuckled with satisfaction. "Kinda nice to have a student that gives me a respectful title again. I haven't had one of those in some time." He paused to cross his legs and rest his left elbow on his knee with his face in his left hand. "Look kid, I agreed to teach you a few things and take you on this trip per the Hokage's requests... and your father's 'wishes'. However, before I get started on that, I need to know a few things about you."

"Like what? My likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams?" Hinata asked.

Jiraiya shook his head. "Not really, not unless I ask for that later. What I need to know is what you can do, what you think you can't do, what you want to accomplish, and why you want that in the first place."

Hinata gently grasped Naruto's hitai-ate around her neck for a moment before answering. "Wha-what I can do, is the b-basics and some of the more advanced stages of my clan's style. What I can't do... is the more demanding parts that require a more... rigid body and heart. What I want to accomplish is... earning the respect of my family and Naruto-kun, and m-my reasons are for love and the hope that the degradation I receive will finally stop."

Jiraiya looked like he was thinking her answer over. "Are you certain your affection for Naruto is as genuine as you claim it is? If I'm going to train you, I need to know for certain you are not a silly fan girl like the Uchiha had, just of a different variety. I won't waste my time on someone like that."

"How do I prove that to you?"

"For one, you can tell me two things about Naruto that you don't like." The Toad Sannin replied.

Hinata sighed and paused, as if unsure how to answer that. "Well... I admit I don't think his outfit is the best choice of attire. Sure, it gives him character, but it's not good for the job. And I'm not exactly thrilled at how he... well, indulges in ramen so much, like it's an addiction. He needs to learn to have more variety in his diet."

Jiraiya smiled. "Okay, so far so good. In case you didn't realize it yet, most fan girls only see good things about the ones they crush on, ignoring all unflattering characteristics. Loving someone doesn't mean you have to believe they're perfect. If you do, then what you really love is simply a belief about them; and since you admitted without trouble that you do see some flaws in Naruto this gives your claim of love more credibility to me."

Hinata smiled, and then it looked like her new sensei had more. "My second question is what makes you so certain Naruto is still alive? I have my own reasons to suspect it, but what about you?"

"It's... kind of hard to put into words exactly." She answered. "But the best reason is that I don't believe that Naruto-kun could survive all that he's encountered in his life and yet be killed by those talentless scumbags that claim to have done so. With his 'extra help' Naruto-kun has survived much worse."

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow. "Extra help?"

Hinata gave him a deadpan expression. "I'm well aware of the Kyuubi inside him, Jiraiya-sensei."

The old man was quite shocked. "How exactly do you know of that? No one your age should know about that. Did he tell you?"

Hinata sighed and looked down. "No, I found out years ago from one of the older members of my clan. You see, some of the members of my clan seem to believe that as long as they interact with their own, no one had do anything about it, even the Hokage."

"Ah, the whole 'This is clan business so butt out' kind of mentality?" Jiraiya asked, having heard this kind of thing many times before.

"Exactly." Hinata answered. "Anyway, a few months before I graduated from the academy, one of my clan members felt I was getting a little too interested in Naruto-kun so he told me about the Kyuubi, but tried to portray Naruto-kun in a very bad light at the same time. The next day I asked the Third Hokage about it, he asked who told me, I gave the name and within the day he was executed. Of course he tried the approach you just mentioned but it didn't save him, and the Hokage gave a warning to the rest of knowing Hyuuga about it. He was more concerned if I would hate Naruto-kun or not, but I told him I wanted to decide for myself if he was a threat and that I'm sure the Fourth knew what he was doing."

Jiraiya smiled. "If only everyone else thought that way." The sage then got his serious face back on again. "Okay, so you know his biggest secret but don't fear him, that's good. You admit flaw in him so your love isn't really an obsession. So for now, I'll accept your feelings as genuine and will teach you. For your first lesson..." Jiraiya made several hand signs. There was a large puff of smoke and what appeared was a giant green toad.

Hinata took a step back at seeing the great thing. "Wh… what is th-that?" She asked shakily.

Jiraiya let out a laugh, and then he patted the toad on its slimy head. "This, my dear apprentice, is the Messenger Toad, which I summoned to bring you this." He snapped his fingers.

The toad's mouth suddenly began to bulge and then it opened its mouth and its long thick tongue stretched out, holding a giant scroll which Jiraiya took. "Behold the contract of the toads, which if one signs their name in blood upon then said person shall have the ability to summon toads to do their bidding." He said as he unrolled it and laid it across the ground.

Hinata bent down and stared at the scroll. At the very bottom were names of all the people who had made the contract with the toads, the three most recent names were Jiraiya, the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, and the final name was Uzumaki Naruto.

Hinata looked up at the old hermit who nodded his head. The Hyuuga heiress then brought her thumb to her mouth, bit down onto it and drew blood. With her thumb properly bleeding she then made her mark and wrote her name onto the contract. The moment she did that the toad's tongue shot out and curled around the contract. It then pulled it back into its mouth and vanished.

"Now you are a Toad Summoner, like myself and Naruto. By doing the proper hand signs with a sacrifice of blood, you can summon toads to assist you. They make decent trackers, defenders, and pack a mean punch in the right conditions. I'm going to get you working on successfully summoning them. To help inspire you, Naruto's first successful summon was the boss toad Gamabunta, who helped the Fourth. And he did it in one day."

Hinata smiled, and paid close attention to the needed set of hand signs. "Can we use the toads to find Naruto-kun Jiraiya-sensei?"

He nodded as he showed her the summoning method. "I already have them on it. And long as he's alive and under the contract, they can find him anywhere." That brought a smile to Hinatas face, knowing that her new sensei was on top of searching for Naruto. Then Jiraiya clapped his hands together. "Alright then, let us try some summoning then, shall we?"

Hinata nodded, then bit her thumb, performed all of the correct hand signs, and placed her hands onto the ground. "Summoning Jutsu." There soon appeared a large puff of smoke.

"WHAT THE HELL!" A loud booming voice called out.

Jiraiya's eyes widened. There, in the middle of the woods, as large and in charge as always, was the Boss Toad Gamabunta. "Geez, what is it with kids these days? How are they able to make such large summons?" He asked himself. As he attempted to move before the chief toad saw him.

Gambunta swirled one of his massive eyes towards the sannin. "Jiraiya!" The mighty toad's voice boomed as the old man came to a frightened halt. "Why have you summoned me here?"

The old hermit held up his hands. "Not me, I didn't summon you." He said as he took several steps back.

"I… I did sir." Hinata called up to the Boss Toad.

"Huh?" Gambunta turned his head and stared down at girl. He lowered himself down even further and looked at the Hyuuga heiress, who could see her reflection in his eye. "Hmmm, you look like a Hyuuga. I never really liked your clan. Your clan is as arrogant as those damned Uchihas." He said as he blew a puff of smoke at Hinata.

Hinata coughed a few times and fanned the smoke away from her. "I… I will admit… that my clan does have a few problems. B-but I am s-still the one that summoned you."

The mighty toad narrowed his eye. "And what does that mean to me child?"

Hinata was caught off guard by that one. But she answered with as much confidence as she could muster in the face of such a large creature. "It means that… I... am your master."

Gamabunta stared at Hinata in silence for a moment and then he pulled himself up, and began to laugh. "HAHAHAHA, MY MASTER?" He said comically. When he finished his laugh he looked back down at the Hyuuga. "Listen girl, I will tell you what I told that that Blonde-Gaki, I don't take orders from children, I barely take them from that perverted fool who calls himself a sage." The toad said as he pointed his webbed finger at Jiraiya.

Hinata looked over at her sensei. "Pervert?" She asked.

Jiraiyas eyes darted back and forth. "Uh it's a joke, a joke between friends." He said with a fake laugh. _'I better not lose her respect too.'_

Gambunta blew out another large cloud of smoke "However, since you seem to be more level-headed than my other summoner, I will make you the same offer I made the boy. If you agree to be my servant, then I promise as your master to come your aid when you summon me." He said with a smirk.

"Are you the only toad I can summon?" Hinata asked.

"No, you should be able to summon much smaller ones too." Jiraiya told her. "To be honest, that's actually what I was expecting from you instead of the big guy on your first try. Even the Fourth couldn't do that, and not even Naruto if you count all those tadpoles he summoned before Bunta."

Hinata tried to give the giant amphibian the most eye contact she could do from her position. "That sounds good to me sir. I don't really think I could be a good master to you anyway."

"Wow, a summoner with a sense of humility. I like her, despite her clan. Okay, I recognize you as a summoner. If you don't mind I'd like to go home. And one more thing girl, why don't you ask this pervert here to read one of his books or take you 'researching'. Then you'll see what I mean." Gamabunta said with a smirk before vanishing.

Jiraiya palmed his face. _'Crap, Bunta set me up. Damn toad. But if I don't do my research I can't afford this trip.'_

"Is something wrong Jiraiya-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"No, just ignore what he just told you. That's my first order as your sensei." He told her sternly. "Now let's see if we can get you able to summon something smaller."

* * *

Deep below, in an underground facility in another country, Uchiha Sasuke trained under the tutelage of his master, the Snake Sannin Orochimaru.

Orochimaru stood and watched as the last of the Uchiha built up a great deal of chakra in his hand forming the chidori and then attacked a large stone slab. Now while most ninja attacks could easily break stone, this particular slab had been infused with a great deal of chakra, making it impossible to break with any conventional jutsus. No, it required a larger amount of chakra than normal in order to even cause a small crack. Basically nothing less than a jounin or maybe an enthusiastic chuunin could get any results.

Sasuke, with his curse mark active and the flame pattern on his skin, slammed the chidori into the slab, watching the blue lightning blade crackle against the stone until an explosion happened. The Uchiha was thrown back onto the hard floor, where he took several deep breaths before he looked up, only to find that the slab barely had a dent in it.

The raven-haired teen hit the floor with his fist, his skin returning to normal. "Dammit!" He cursed as he picked himself up off the ground. Orochimaru let out a few dark chuckles as he watched Sasuke's frustration. The Uchiha spun around and stared at his sensei. "What's so funny? Your teachings are failing and the curse mark is no longer working. I need more power"

"The curse mark is working just fine boy, the failing rests on you. You rely too much on your rage to activate it." The pale sannin explained with a sinister grin.

Sasuke scoffed. "You're the one who told me that rage was used to activate the mark in the first place."

Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows, one finger raised as if to indicate what he was about to say. "Rage is indeed a common and useful way to activate the curse mark. However, it is not the only way and you rely solely on that emotion alone to do it when you could use others that may prove more effective for you. It's like using only kunai when a shuriken can do the job too." He said in a tone barely above a whisper. "After awhile the power you receive from rage… becomes like normal chakra flow, weak and useless. Sooner or later the anger will wane and you just can't get as much motivation from it anymore. Hence your current predicament. You simply need more motive now."

Sasuke growled. "Then what else can I use?"

The snake sannin's smile widened. "Pleasure. I can see it in your eyes how much you enjoy the pleasure of battle, that you get a thrill from every attack you use on your opponent. So use that and you shall once again have access to your full power."

Sasuke scoffed again. And then suddenly appearing behind Orochimaru was his most loyal servant Kabuto who kneeled and bowed his head. "Forgive my intrusion Orochimaru-sama, however I have just received word from our spy in the Leaf Village."

Orochimaru turned and stared at Kabuto with his yellow snake eyes as the medic rose up from the ground. "What news is that? Did the old crone Tsunade finally drink herself to death?" He said with a laugh.

Kabuto shook his head. "No my lord, however you are close. Uzumaki Naruto is dead."

That caused Orochimaru to raise a brow and Sasuke to turn his head sharply. "What?" The Uchiha asked.

"He was apparently killed on an away mission in Wave Country. From what I understand Konoha is apparently celebrating his death."

"Hmmm... well this is good information. The nine-tailed brat is dead so the Akatsuki will never be able to get a hold of his power. And the line of the Uzumaki and Namikaze is finally extinct. Well this does add a great deal in our favor. Would you not agree Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru said as he looked over at his pupil.

However Sasuke stood there unmoving. His eyes completely empty and blank, and then his mouth twitched upward into a smile. And then came a laugh, a long loud and deep laugh that echoed across the whole underground cavern. "He's dead." He said with what sounded like triumph. "The baka is finally dead." Nothing could hide Sasuke's joy at the fact that his blonde rival was finally dead. And then he turned his attention back to the stone slab, his mark now active again.

Orochimaru and Kabuto watched with interest as Sasuke formed another chidori in his hand and then launched himself at his target. And the moment his attack touched the slab, Sasuke was not thrown back. He stood and they watched as the stone slab crumbled into rubble.

Sasuke's smile was only matched by Orochimaru's at this success.


	10. Chapter 10

Back in Kiri, Naruto was with his new team adjusting to his new life. First thing both girls agreed that Naruto needed to wear something else. He was reluctant, since that orange-and-black jumpsuit, along with the green gemstone necklace, were the only things from his old lifestyle he had left. So he compromised that even though he wouldn't destroy his original clothing, he would wear something else in public and just keep his old clothes stowed away as a memento.

Right now Naruto was in a clothing store changing room with several things he picked out while Kasumi and Shiori waited. Kasumi smiled at her older student. "I'm glad you're learning to connect to people again Shiori-san."

The young girl sighed. "It's no big deal."

"Still, I'm glad." Kasumi repeated. "After all, how can you hope to achieve your dream if you never learn to be part of a team again?"

Shiori's shoulders slumped. "I... I always figured Hikaru-kun and I would do it together. When he... was killed, I..." She turned to look at her sensei, one tear in her left eye. "I was actually ready to give up on it."

Kasumi tilted her head in confusion. "Then why did you stay a kunoichi?"

Shiori shrugged. "I didn't have any other ideas. Besides, I didn't want to lose you too sensei."

The older woman put her arm around her student's shoulders. "I just hope you can strive to fulfill your goal still. I'd love to see you get what you want. Maybe Hikaru-kun can't help you anymore, but maybe, Naruto-kun can."

Shiori chuckled. "Don't hold your breath on that one sensei."

"Um... how does this look?" Naruto nervously asked as he approached both girls.

The two looked at him and were a little impressed. Naruto was wearing a grey T-shirt with a single black stripe going horizontally just under his pecs, a pair of loose-fit dark grey slacks with two pockets on each leg to hold things in, brown boots, red gloves with a blue Kiri symbol on the back of both hands, and black elbow pads.

"Not bad Naruto-kun." Kasumi said to her new student. "The colors should be good for blending in with the environment here and many other dark places but the ensemble itself is also socially acceptable and comfortable."

Shiori just nodded. But she added more when Kasumi and Naruto gave her expectant looks. "Looks better than before, honestly who wears orange?"

"Hey what's wrong with orange?" Naruto complained.

"So many things I'll have to send you a list later." She joked.

"Alright, we'll get that and a spare set for now. When you get mission pay you'll have to get some more your own." Kasumi told the young boy, as she was the one who was paying for this shopping trip since the Mizukage wouldn't. "After this we'll get you some practice weapons and real weapons, and something for dinner."

"Are there any good ramen shops here?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, I know one." Shiori added. "I eat there all the time."

"Tomorrow we're going to find out what else you like to eat. But for today, we'll settle for a quick tour of the village." Kasumi stated as she led them to the register. Sadly she had to pay for this herself since the Mizukage said this wasn't her responsibility. Kasumi could handle it, but still the fact that Mei was willing to enlist his services but not provide him with much for the job bothered her. It felt rather unfair.

They walked out of the store after the purchase with Naruto holding the bags. "Wasn't that a bit expensive Kasumi-sensei?" He asked.

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'm not the wealthiest woman in Land of Water, but I'm not the poorest either." She told him to soothe his worries.

"Where do you get your money from? Your ninja job?" Naruto asked.

"Some of it, but not all. A good chunk of my income comes from my clan's treasury."

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Your clan?" He said it like he was hearing the concept of a clan for the first time, which for all basic purposes he was.

"Yeah, it's my family and extended relatives. My clan is actually one of several in Kiri."

"Is everyone here part of a clan?" The blonde asked, then turned to face Shiori. "Are you part of one?"

"Not really. Mine almost counts, but we don't have the numbers to qualify for clan status."

"Clan status?" Naruto asked.

"Allow me to explain how clans work in a ninja village Naruto-kun." Kasumi said as she took a seat on a bench, her two students following suit. "This may apply to all other villages, maybe with some slight variations for some, but what I'm going to tell you is the ground rules for what makes a clan qualify as a clan here in Kirigakure."

"Now, a clan is defined as a large family of shinobi that have a set fighting style unique to themselves that can be passed down from one generation to the next, by either genetic or learned means. They must remain loyal to the village and serve it, as well as train all capable members into being working shinobi. Not to say that every member must become one, but all that can should at least try unless there's a medical or psychological reason why they shouldn't."

Kasumi stopped to take out a water bottle she had strapped to her hip and took a long sip. Naruto noticed she drank like she was almost dying of thirst and this wasn't the first time he saw it happen. He also noticed she didn't have to refill it yet but surely she didn't have more than a liter inside it. He was about to ask her about it, but she stopped drinking and continued her lesson before he could.

"Now there are three mandatory requirements for what allows a clan to qualify as one. Any clan that does is given several benefits from the village. These benefits include but are not limited to reserved land for their property and training purposes, a large treasury of money to support themselves in hard times and occasional spending needs, and a way to get an audience with the Mizukage when needed. Although that last one still requires the Mizukage to have spare time on her own end. And of course with these benefits come responsibilities. These include but are not limited to total loyalty to Kiri and only Kiri, securing the village's safety, providing a service for it, and the occasional sacrifice from the clan treasury during hard economic times in the village."

She paused briefly in case Naruto had a question to ask. When he stayed silent, she continued. "The first requirement a clan must meet is the most important one, the possession of a unique fighting style. Many fighting styles and jutsu for ninja use are public domain and can be learned and used by anyone. But some fighting styles and jutsus are the exclusive property of a family that make it their own and won't share it with others. It may sound selfish, but it gives them an advantage on the battleground by having their movements be hard to read and it gives their children extra training before they become genin. Also sometimes it's a genetic thing and the reason they keep it to themselves is because no one else can use it."

"Do you have your own style?" Naruto asked.

Kasumi nodded. "Of course, but I'll tell you more about it later. Now, as I was saying, the fighting style can be any type, but it must be able to be passed from parent to children to the child's children and so on. Use for one generation is not good enough. It can be passed down genetically, making it a kekkei genkai, or taught to the child by the parent, making it a clan specialty. Kiri has a preference for the second type."

"The second requirement is service to the village, like I said earlier." The jounin continued. "Naturally, loyalty to the village is a must, but there's more to it than that. Members of a clan need a source of income to keep their treasury from drying out so they need jobs to give them money. But not everyone can have missions all the time or the village would be defenseless. So they solve that problem by having jobs within the village too. Some clans own businesses, some run errands for the village like patrols and trade runs, and some put their ninja skills to use for public services, like medic nins. My clan, the Midorigami, make money by owning the public baths and hot springs here people like to go to. FYI, tell them you're my student and you'll get a discount there."

"Thanks." Naruto said.

Kasumi shifted in her spot to get a bit more comfortable. "The third and final requirement is a suitable number of clan members all baring the clan name. Clans by definition are large, with more than one family making them up. Generally the minimum number of members is thirty, with more than one generation of family members being alive and active. Sometimes exceptions are made, like when a clan suffers a great tragedy that lowers their numbers. Larger numbers are better because it reduces the risk of inbreeding or needing to acquire new blood which could possibly compromise the next generation's skills and security. Such risks are small but still better not taken."

"That last one's the reason my family doesn't count." Shiori added, gaining Naruto's attention. "We have our own fighting style and business, but few numbers."

"Why?" Naruto asked, but regretted it when he saw the pained look on her face.

"I'd rather not say."

"Anyway..." Kasumi added, regaining the blonde's focus and avoiding any potential problems between her students. "That's how clans work here in Kiri and to a point in other villages. Not every shinobi comes from a clan, but that doesn't mean they're inferior in any way. So even though you don't come from a clan Naruto-kun, at least that we know of, you'll still be capable of learning to be a great shinobi if you put all your heart into it."

Naruto just had a thought spring up. "Is it possible I am part of a clan and they're trying to find me?"

"Yes it's possible, but not definite. Your family could be anyone, but for now you'll have to make due without. Sorry." Naruto sadly nodded. "But at least you'll have a name to use, and us for company. Maybe more when you meet the other genin."

"What name will you be using?" Shiori asked.

"The Mizukage assigned me the surname Umitora." He answered. "Umi because I was found at sea and tora because I was wearing orange and black, kinda like a tiger."

"I guess that's fitting." The redhead replied. "Anyone still hungry? I'd really like some ramen."

"Me too." Naruto added.

Kasumi smiled. _'Something tells me these two will get along just fine.'_

* * *

Mei was in her office with Ao discussing something rather important. "So what did you find Ao-san?"

The cycloptic jounin pulled a scroll out of his pocket and tossed it to the redheaded Mizukage.

Mei caught the scroll with her right and opened it up. The scroll itself was a collection of bits and pieces of information that all intertwined with each other. A birth certificate; the surname blacked out, police reports, a personal message from the Third Hokage of Konoha, and a several statements from a few ninjas. Mei noticed that several words and phrases had been highlighted and circled such as _'demon spawn'_ or _'Fox'_. The Mizukage set the scroll down on her desk and looked at Ao who stood as quite and still as a statue.

"Care to explain all of this Ao-san?" She asked and gestured for him to speak.

Ao nodded. "Yes, Ma'am, thru one of my sources I was able to get the information that you see before you. I know it is not complete straightforward ntel, however once I went through all of it I was able to deduce which of the Tailed Beasts Naruto-san is."

Mei leaned forward a bit. "And…"

Ao licked his lips and said point blank. "The Kyuubi."

Mei's thin brow arched, she did not say a word as she leaned back into her chair. "The Kyuubi is dead Ao-San. The Forth Hokage Namikaze Minato killed it thirteen years ago and he died as well, taking that beast to hell with him."

There was no village in the entire ninja world that had not heard the story of how the great Yellow Flash had battled and killed the feared Kyuubi, the most powerful and evil of the Tailed Beasts. A disaster of that scale is pretty hard to cover up.

Ao shook his head. "Forgive me my lady but I must disagree with you. The Fourth Hokage did not kill the Kyuubi. He apparently sealed the beast inside the body of a new born child, Naruto-san. This boy, who apparently does go by the name Naruto, originated from Konoha apparently."

Mei, who rarely showed any surprise, had her eyes actually widen slightly. "You mean to tell me that the host for the most powerful and deadly of the Tailed Beasts is in our possession?"

Ao nodded "Yes my lady." He could not contain the eagerness in his voice.

The Fifth Mizukage, sat back in her chair, and tapped her fingers against each other. "Well this is an interesting turn of events. Now how to proceed?"

Ao answered right away. "I think the first thing we should do is have Naruto-san placed in special training programs, ones that will test his mental and physical strength and mold him into the perfect weapon for-"

"Be quite Ao." Mei said, her voice having a deadly silk-like tone to it. The aforementioned shinobi immediately fell silent as Mei continued to talk. "This matter cannot be approached in the way you describe. It was done before with Yagura-sama and all that lead to were years of dictatorship, the destruction of nearly every kekkei genkai of our village, many of our shinobi turning into missing nin, and an overall weakening of Kiri. No, no this matter shall be handled with a more delicate and less militaristic way."

"How so Madame?"

"I had been hoping to not really take a stance with this boy, to avoid any controversy of playing favorites with my ninjas. However, Naruto could be our village's future, and we won't want to risk Konoha trying to reclaim him will we? Hmmm..." A moment of thinking and Mei came up with a solution.

* * *

Kasumi, Shiori, and Naruto sat on the stools of Shiori's favorite restaurant, which she claimed made the best ramen in the entire village. The proprietor of the ramen shop was Matsuoka Yuki, a middle-aged portly women with greying brown hair and a kind and friendly smile to her customers.

"Ah my best patrons, good to see you both." She said happily, as she finished washing several bowls.

Kasumi smiled. "Our usual Matsuoka-san."

"Coming right up, a bowl of chicken ramen and one shrimp." She then just seemed to notice Naruto. "Ahh and what will you have?" She asked.

"Three bowls of beef ramen." Naruto said suddenly, the words feeling natural and familiar to him.

Kasumi looked at the boy, wondering how he could eat that much. "Be careful Naruto, this dinner could bankrupt me."

"There is no need to worry about that." A new male voice said. All three turned around to see Ao standing there, his hands behind his back, and his usual frown present.

"Ao-san! What are you doing here?" Kasumi asked.

"I am here at the request of the Mizukage, she has rethought her previous decision and decided that it was wrong for her to make you provide sole financial aid for Naruto-san until he completes his first mission." From his breast pocket he produces a check and hands it to Naruto. "This is from the Lady Mei, so you may have the ability to purchase all of the items that you require." He paused to turn towards Kasumi. "You may subtract the amount from that check as compensation for your spending." Then he turned back to Naruto. "Also, Mizukage-sama has found you a suitable apartment, you may move in tonight." He hands Naruto a paper with the address and key tapped to it."

Ao then nodded to the three of them and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

Kasumi, Shiori, and Naruto just stared at each other for a moment. But Shiori broke the silence. "Go on Naruto, read how much the check's for. Maybe there is enough to pay for all of dinner."

Naruto looked at the check and his mouth dropped when he saw the number. "It's… it's for…"

Kasumi and Shiori looked at it and together both teacher and student, their eye's wide with shock, said together "500,000 Ryō?" That was the equivalent of pay for completing an A-Ranked mission.

"I guess, dinner is on me?"

* * *

Mei sat in her office, a bottle of sake sitting on her table as she was looking over old records for any information on the Kyuubi that she did not already know. However all villages records on any tailed beast that was not their own was limited.

According to the information Ao had acquired, Naruto came from Konoha but the village did not appear to want him. Ao's spy had dug deep, and revealed Konoha regarded the boy little better than a mangy animal that needed to be tamed or put down. He was listed at genin rank with some usable skills and strong enough to defeat chuunin exam candidates but not perceptive enough to gain the rank himself. Part of the report said he at times was rumored to have access to the Kyuubi's power, but how much was inconclusive.

There was an old report on an encounter between the Sanbi; the Three-Tailed Turtle and Kyuubi. According the record the Sanbi had attempted to increase its domain by flooding the forests near the coastlines, where the Kyuubi had been dwelling. The Fox and the Turtle then battled each other for the territory, and the Kyuubi had defeated the Sanbi with great ease, causing the Sanbi to flee back into the ocean and swim out to sea where it later made its home amongst Kiri's islands.

Beyond that she had nothing else although she doubted she would any further information, besides she had a good feeling that Naruto would be far better then that of Yagura.

Mei remembered the tyranny of Yagura well. During his reign Kiri had become known as the Village of the Bloody Mist. Turmoil and fear ran rampant through the streets, the Academy was more of a blood soaked training ground than a school where students were forced to kill each other in one on one combat to the death. Later on anyone possession a kekkei genkai was put to death. Mei was lucky to survive but the rest of her family was slaughtered. And no one dared to challenge Yagura.

It was not until three years ago did that all change. Mei with the support of Kiri's military lead a successful coup against the government along with the aid of Kiri's only other Tailed Beast, the Rokubi; the Six-Tailed Slug.

Mei remembered the Rokubi's host well. Utakata had been charming, a bit stoic but he had a nice carefree attitude, especially with his bubbles. Oh she would have loved to have gone out on a date with him, but he had been so solitude and quiet. He always vanished before she could ask. And then he simply disappeared on a mission, and never returned to Kiri.

But she still fantasized about him on lonely nights, his tall thin frame that hid those muscles. His youthful pale white face and those light golden eyes that seemed to almost glow through the mist. And he had such nice dark brown hair that reaches the base of his neck with bangs that covered the left side of his face.

Mei felt her face turn red and her body hot at the memory. She let out a sigh of pleasure as she felt her hand begin to drift down.

Suddenly the door opened and Ao stepped him, holding a file folder. "Madame I was wondering what you wanted me to do with-"

Ao just narrowly dodge the bottle of sake that smashed against the wall. "GET OUT!" Mei yelled with murderous force.

The cycloptic ninja shut the door quickly, sweating bullets and his one good eye wide with terror, thinking he had just dodged death.


	11. Chapter 11

"So this is where I'm going to live?" Naruto asked as he double-checked the address written down for him by the Mizukage.

The building before them was only two stories high but was long enough for eight apartment's total. It was red with a white roof and had some ivy growing on the side. The rooms on the second floor apparently came with balconies. Two staircases could be seen near either end of the building showing the way into four adjacent apartments, two on top and two below.

The building was located in a pretty decent part of the village, not the richest, not the poorest, a good middle class setting, not that far from where Kasumi lived and about fifteen minutes from Shiori's home.

"Hmm it looks okay." Shiori unenthusiastically said, not sure what to say but feeling she had to say something.

"Let's go inside. See what's included and what we need to buy to make it livable." Kasumi said, sounding extra happy at the fact that Mizukage was being so generous, to provide Naruto with all of that money and even a home.

They entered the building together to get a good look around.

A look inside the apartment, which was on the second floor and at the right edge of the complex, revealed it came with a fridge, oven and stove, washer-dryer combo in a small room with little room for anything else, and a shower in the bathroom as far as utilities go. The layout of the apartment was simple. The door to enter led to a small area for people to place their shoes and a connected small closet before the main room. To the upper-right of the main room was the kitchen with the dining area connecting the two. To the lower-right was a hallway that connected the laundry room, another closet, and the bedroom together.

Naruto and Shiori had no comments on the place, but Kasumi looked it over and voiced her plans sounding more like an interior decorator then a Ninja Sensei. "Okay, you need a bed of some kind. A futon should be fine since we'd have to drag it up the stairs. You'll need groceries and dining supplies such as plates, bowls, and silverware. A microwave may be a good idea and something you can put dishes to dry on since you don't have a dishwasher here. Ooh, you'll need a couch and a TV since I'm sure a boy like you will want something like that. Then maybe a few decorations to make the whole thing look nice; or maybe we could paint the place a really nice color, maybe a dark green or a sea mist; of course if there's some spare money after the essentials."

Naruto leaned by Shiori to whisper to her. "Is she always like this?"

"She tends to get a little... eager when it comes to this kind of thing from what I've heard. It's part of why I never invited her to my home." The redhead answered, a trace of sadness heard at the end of her statement.

"Something wrong?" Naruto asked when he detected the sorrow in his teammate tone.

Shiori closed her eyes and shook her head, never actually looking at him. "Never mind." Whatever was wrong, she was clearly waving it away as if it did not really matter and Naruto knew it.

"Okay guys, there's still plenty of time left today so let's get the necessities first and over with." Kasumi told them, unaware of their brief conversation. Shiori-san, you can go home if you'd prefer. I won't force you to help us out here."

Shiori shook her head. "That's fine. I don't have to be home just yet so I've got time. Besides, you do want me and him to get along right? This could help us."

Kasumi was silent for a few seconds. "Okay, if you don't mind. Let's go I know this really good store."

* * *

In her office, a relieved Mei was looking thru some recent financial reports when there was a timid knock at her door. "Enter." She said as she flipped to the next page of the report, not bothering to look up.

Ao entered the room, more than a bit hesitantly. "Ummm is this a good time my lady? Or should I come back later?"

Mei closed the report file and looked up at Ao with a kind sweet smile. "Of course it is a fine time my faithful Ao. Come in." The cycloptic ninja seemed a bit surprised, but none the less did as he was told and shut the door behind him and took a seat before her desk. "I trust you delivered the check and key to Naruto?" She asked as she stared intently at Ao, her eyes never wavering.

Ao nodded. "Yes madam, I also stuck around to judge their reaction. They were… greatly surprised."

Mei nodded happily. "Good, very good. I want Naruto to feel that I am a generous leader and am always seeking to help my loyal ninjas." All while she said this her eyes never left Ao's face.

Ao suddenly felt a little more scared than before. "Uhhh my lady, I think I should be going." He said as he started to get up only to be pushed back down by Mei, her trademark smile still pasted on her face.

"We are not done talking Ao." Her voice was as cold as ice but it was laced with eerie calmness. "You saw me doing something you were not supposed to see."

"Mizukage-sama, I saw nothing, nothing at all." Ao stammered, his one good eye wide.

"That's right Ao, you saw nothing. Because if you _had_ seen something and had ever repeated what you saw to anyone… or anything, I might just have to do something that might result in me having to look for a new Military Advisor." Mei said as she patted him on the cheek. "Ok, now get going."

The cycloptic ninja did not waste a single moment, he quickly moved out of the room and as the door shut Mei chuckled a little. "Ah its just so fun to scare people. I wonder if this has something to do with why single guys run from me."

* * *

Hidden away in an underground cave, standing beneath a giant statue, the leading members of the Akatsuki met, to discuss news that was seemed to be spreading rapidly.

"Are you positive this information is correct?" A man's voice asked another. The one asking was impossible to truly identify since it was actually a chakra hologram, not a flesh-and-blood person present, and it wasn't the only one there. The only distinguishing features of the one that just spoke were the ringed eyes he had.

There were two people that were flesh-and-blood standing in the area. One was a young lean man with a serious battle-weary face, and the other was an older man with blue skin and a shark-like face. They were Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, speaking to their fellow Akatsuki members.

"No I'm not, Leader-sama." Itachi answered. "I'm just saying what I've heard amongst the commotion in Konoha. Like I said, the rumors claim that the Kyuubi's host was killed in action not too long ago."

"Can this be proven?" A feminine-looking hologram asked for the rest.

Itachi shook his head. "No. For the time being, word-of-mouth amongst the inhabitants is the only source of information on this claim. And with the overall attitude towards the jinchuuriki most of the citizens had, the rumors have by now already become twisted and distorted to the point of being impossible to tell fact from fiction. But the general agreement is that the boy is pronounced dead. And the masses within Konoha are celebrating this while a smaller portion is mourning himself."

Itachi personally found himself sickened by the thought of how his village was acting. Granted, he had little reason to say he was any better than they were, so he couldn't fairly pass judgment. But that didn't mean he wouldn't; if Konoha didn't judge it's own citizens fairly why should he?

"Has the village sent any search parties out?" A hologram of a middle-aged man with a ponytail asked.

"That I cannot confirm or deny." Itachi replied.

"Judging from the village's reactions, I doubt they would bother." Kisame commented. "If they're celebrating then they must have his body which proves he's dead, right? Why else would they be so happy?"

"Kisame-san is right. The evidence points to Uzumaki Naruto's untimely demise." A hologram that looked like a venus flytrap stated.

"So what does that mean for us Leader-sama?" A hologram with one visible eye asked.

"If he's truly dead then it appears ultimately all our plans are for naught." A hologram of a man with longer-than-normal sleek hair claimed irritably.

"Maybe, or maybe not." The ringed-eyed one stated, gaining all member's attentions. "Kisame, don't your reports verify that the Sanbi is free somewhere within your home country?"

The sharkman nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sure where it is. I've heard it has moved at least twice during it's free time but has ultimately stayed away from settled areas. I'm guessing the big turtle fears being sealed up again."

"But it remains in the world despite the passing of it's host." The leader said, more stating a fact but asking for verification at the same time in a way.

"Yes." Kisame answered.

"You suspect the same is true of the Kyuubi?" Itachi asked.

"We must consider the possibility. With that, we can still move forward with our preparations."

"And what if it turns out to be a waste of time?" The long-haired man asked.

"And what if it doesn't?" The leader asked.

"In that case, we could be in serious trouble." The lone woman claimed. "If the Kyuubi is uncontained, then it will be nearly impossible for us to capture it."

The Venus Fly trap image chuckled "The Kyuubi was captured before, it can be captured again."

"Tobi can help. Tobi's a good boy." The one-eyed man proclaimed, sounding rather immature in the process.

The blonde haired male sighed, why did he have such an immature partner? Why couldn't he have been with Itachi? Now there was a guy who took his duties seriously. Not that anyone EVER took Tobi seriously.

The acknowledged leader continued speaking. "We still have less than three years until we can do anything with a captured tailed beast in the first place. That should give us plenty of time to track down the fox and find a way to capture it ourselves. If we're lucky someone else will try to reseal it in another person and we'll be able to take them instead."

"With all due respect Leader-sama, I'm doubting this will be worth it." The long-haired man commented.

"Oh ye of little faith, we have time to find out." The leader said before fading away. With that, the rest of the chakra holograms faded out too.

* * *

At a run-down bar, The Red Dragon, a number of bandits, criminals, and missing ninjas met. They drank, gambled, and brawled. This was their regular routine.

In the far back of the room, sipping sake from a cup and counting a pile of money and gold coins, was the leader of the bar's current occupants. His name was Seto, a simple business man, in his late thirties, his short hair was light brown with some slight grey and he was dressed in a black suit and tie. The look made him resemble a young tall Gato. He was not a member of any village, hidden or otherwise, and he had no loyalties to anyone besides himself and money. And in order to increase his own finances he sought the aid of the people in this bar, lowlifes, murderers, and mercenary ninjas who worked for the same thing he did, money, money, and more money. People came to him seeking the aid of his hired thugs, usually to pull off some heist or kill some politician that was causing a bit of problems for the criminal underworld.

Suddenly the doors to the Red Dragon opened and in stepped both Tobi and Deidara. Just then the entire bar fell silent, everyone in there knew that when someone wearing the colors of the Akatsuki came here it meant something important. And that usually meant something bad, even by their standards.

Deidara walked silently across the room, passing the crowded chairs with a type of dower demeanor that made everyone look down so to not stare at him directly in the face. Tobi however nodded to everyone, saying 'hi' or 'good to see you', which made Deidra groan inwardly.

They finally made it to Seto's table, who stood there with his money on either side of him, his sake in front of him, and his hands folded neatly on the table. Like Akatsuki, he felt no need to hide who he was or what he did, at least not when authority figures were around.

"Gentlemen, good to see members of the Akatsuki in my establishment again. Can I offer you a drink?" He offered, despite the fact that he didn't actually own the bar. That never stopped him though.

Tobi seemed about to say something but Deidara spoke first. "No, we are not here on a social visit. We need the assistance of your organization and for you to get a message out to the Yakuza. You have contacts there correct?"

Seto nodded. "I know several associates there. Now how many of my men do you need?"

"All of them." Deidara said as he looked around and surveyed the scum.

"All of my men? What do you need them for?"

"We need them to find two large creatures, one in the form of a turtle and a fox."

"Hmmm, well for the use of all my men, plus contacting the Yakuza, this is going to be rather expensive. I have to ask what's in it for me?" Seto requested in his business state-of-mind. He was intrigued but not thrilled by the claim, so he wanted to see if it was profitable enough for his tastes.

Deidara, who had been frowning ever since they had walked in, suddenly smirked. "Well that's a fair question." He then opened up his coat revealing dozens upon dozens of clays bombs that were attached to his body. Suddenly the bombs jumped off him, looking like doves, and zoomed across the room past the people and latching onto tables, windows and walls. "Lets discuss it." He said as he snapped his fingers, and suddenly the bombs began to glow.

Everyone in the bar knew what that meant, and they all started running towards the door, overturning tables and pushing each other aside trying to get there first. But, moving faster then they could see, Tobi got there first and stood in front of the door, his arms crossed and shaking his head. "Haven't you ever read the evacuation rules? You're supposed to move in a calm orderly fashion."

No one tried moving forward anymore, their fear for the masked man from Akatsuki outweighed their fear for the impending explosion.

Meanwhile back at the end of the bar, Seto was sweating franticly, as he sat in his chair with his eyes wide. "You can't kill me. Who'd do what you're asking if you did?"

"Now I certainly see your point, but who said you're the only resource we have access to? So what could we possibly do for you to buy your cooperation?" Deidara said as he cocked his head to the side as if truly wondering.

The clay bombs began glowing more brightly and rapidly.

"Stop the bombs! Stop the bombs!" Seto said, his voice shaky and afraid.

"Oh, well that's one thing, but is it enough? We don't want to feel like we're cheating you." The ex-Iwa nin added.

The bombs were now start to shake, and everyone started yelling, some started looking ready to try and rush Tobi despite the risk.

"We'll do it, just please shut the bombs off." Seto said, looking like he was about to piss himself.

Deidara smirked and snapped his fingers, the bombs glowed brightly and then feel to the floor, harmless. "Alright, you have twisted my arm, deal."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. And Seto leaned back in his chair, taking in small shallow breaths.

"Now then, are there any more questions?" Deidra asked.

"Yea, how are we supposed a single fox and turtle?" Seto asked.

"Simple, they're both as big as a mountain, the turtle has three tails and the fox has nine. Find out where both of them are contact us and we shall do the rest."

Seto looked unsettled but for a different reason now. "Umm... with all due respect sir, if they're that big, why couldn't someone of your skills easily find them yourself?"

"My skills are needed elsewhere, so I need someone else to do the search instead. Someone more subtle than I. Oh, and all you need to do is locate and then inform us. Better if you don't actually draw their attention, lest you want to die by then."

"I'll get on it. But... the Yakuza are going to be harder to motivate then me." Seto stated.

Deidara just smirked. "I'll be back in four days to see just how much motivating they need then. Now go back to your games. See ya." He turned to leave.

"You sure showed him." Tobi told his partner.

"Shut up."


	12. Chapter 12

Although the sun shone brightly and not a cloud was in the sky, it was a dark day in Konoha. For an ancient public display was taking place, an execution.

Now, Konoha had not had a formal execution in nearly thirty years, and the execution grounds had remained empty and unused for those three decades. Weeds grew around the gallows, the raised platform with a post overhead for nooses, but a careful inspection the other day proved it was still in working condition. It remained primarily as an intimidation factor, to remind everyone in the village, shinobi or not, just how unforgiving the lawmakers could be if messed with. Now Tsunade had come to the grounds, intending to put them back to their original use, executing the defilers of Konoha's laws and reminding the rest why they shouldn't do the same.

The criminals she intended to have punished today were the ones who had openly celebrated the Kyuubi's… no, Naruto's death. They had been under the impression that because Naruto was dead, the law the Third Hokage had passed regarding him had died with him. Tsunade intended to show them the error of their judgment and assumption.

There were twelve to be executed, each one of them shackled with a masked Anbu standing behind them, not that they could escape. Most of them were simple lowlife scum, the shameful dregs of the village, but a few of them had seemingly been good respected members of the community. One of them was Haruno Aina, Sakura's mother, and her face revealed to all she was scared and frightened. She wasn't the only one, as it should be.

"YOU CANT DO THIS YOU CRAZY BITCH!" Aina cried as she struggled with her chains, despite knowing she could not break them.

Other prisoners shouted similar things, mainly calling Tsunade a 'bitch' or 'whore' and then adding pointless threats before demanding their immediate release. The woman they were making derogatory names at just watched unflinchingly.

Only the adults of the village had been ordered to attend the execution, some members of the younger generations were gathered up at the Academy. Tsunade would not have them see this, she would not allow children to witness such a practice which she herself, as a doctor condemned, but in this case found it necessary.

The Hokage's ever faithful assistant Shizune stood behind her, although her face was lowered, as was Tontons, who gave a sad oink. They both pitied the people about to face judgment here, not because they were about to be punished, but for the fact that they had brought this on themselves and what they did in doing so. A part of Shizune was glad that Naruto's slanderers would get their comeuppance, but her moral side would allow her to take no actual pleasure in this.

Tsunade then nodded to the Anbu who began pushing the condemned up the stairs that lead to gallows ropes. Everyone in the crowed watched with wide eyes as the masked ninjas looped the ropes tightly around their necks. It was just like something you'd see in a movie.

The adults who had been brought to witness the event watched on. Some of them were family members of those who were about to be executed and attempted to push their way forward, trying to see if they could stop the inevitable, only to be held back by other members of the Anbu. A good portion of the whole unit had been mobilized for this event, since Tsunade was extremely certain there would be interference.

Tsunade looked ready to give the order when a loud voice halted her.

"STOP!"

Everyone turned to where the voice had originated, and those standing on the gallows let out a sigh of relief when they saw the four leading members of the village council walk onto the execution grounds.

Hyuuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga clan, who ever since the fall of the Uchiha had taken over the role of providing a good deal of the village's internal security. Shimura Danzo, a village elder who had once been on the run for Hokage, he had sought to turn Naruto into a weapon, loyal only to the village, or more accurately himself. Utatane Koharu, an assertive old woman who had been one of the people who demanded the death of Naruto once his jinchuuriki status was known. And lastly Mitokado Homura, one of the Third Hokage's best friends, and one of the few surviving ninjas who had actually aided in restraining the Kyuubi.

All of them had cold looks on their faces as they walked across the grounds towards Tsunade, who stared back at them with an equally cold face. "What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"We are here to end your madness." Hiashi said, looking like he was ready to activate his Byakugan.

"What gives you the right to execute these people without permission of the council?" Koharu asked, her voice although old, still had a powerful tone to it.

"What right? I have my right as the Hokage of Konoha, as the Granddaughter of the First Hokage, as the student of the Third Hokage, and one of the three Sannin. What's more, I have the right under the law which these people broke. Said law gives the Hokage sole say in punishment to those that break it." Tsunade said back to them, not bothering to hide her tone of anger or disgust towards the prisoners.

"The law you speak of died along with Uzumaki Naruto and the beast within him. These people are not guilty of committing any crime." Homura said blankly.

"Anbu, release those prisoners." Danzo said, believing that they would obey him, however to his surprise not one of them moved.

Tsunade allowed herself a small smirk. "The Anbu are answerable only to the Hokage, not the elders." She said. "As all Anbu should be."

"Have you lost all respect for this council and the village it serves?" Hiashi asked. Never in all of his years on the council had he been treated like this.

"It may be that I respect this village more than I respect any one of you. I am executing these people for their evil thoughts and evil deeds. LET THEM GO TO HELL!" Tsunade then turned to the Anbu and gave a gesture with her hand.

Everyone watched in shock and horror as the condemned were not dropped down but were instead raised upwards by the ropes. This was not designed to work like a normal hanging would. The criminal would be raised by a wench to make their death slow and painful to give them some semblance of the pain they caused, and it would expose any co-conspirators in the area if someone made an effort to help them escape before they died. If that happened, the Anbu would catch another guilty party that may have gone unknown otherwise, and if the suffering criminal got loose, they'd land on a pressure-sensitive trapdoor that would give and let them fall to their deaths on a bed of senbon.

They all watched as the prisoners kicked their feet out and gripped the ropes around their necks, trying to loosen it but could not. After a few more minutes their faces turned blue and their thrashing became mere twitching, and a moment later even that ended.

Tsunade then turned away from the council and addressed the villagers, all of whom backed away a bit as she stared at them. She spoke loud enough for all to hear. "And let this be a message to all of you. I will not have anymore of this madness, no more celebrating the death of a Konoha ninja, especially one who fought so hard to protect this village and all of its ungrateful inhabitants. Should I find out that anyone has dared to even utter a word against Uzumaki Naruto again..."

She paused there and raised her left fist high above her head and then brought it crashing down hard into the stone ground, the was a loud crash as the spot where she hit had lowered down into a small crater, however it was large enough for everyone to see.

Tsunade then spoke again. "I will show you my true anger." She spat, taking notice of the fear that were in the eyes of all the villagers. "Now go home, go back to your families." She said as she turned her attention back to the council.

"Now was there anything else you wished to discuss with me?" She asked them as she balled her left hand into a fist again.

None of the four said a single word, they simply stared at her for a moment with raw disgust, then turned around and began walking away, rather quickly. Tsunade knew this would not be the end of the matter though.

One thing Tsunade didn't know was that someone from the younger generation had found a way to watch, and soon the rest would know what happened.

* * *

Back at the Academy, what remained of the Rookies passed the time by hanging out together in the hallway of the Academy. They had been asked by Tsunade to assist the chuunin instructors for the day by telling the students about their experiences and offering tips for being successful on the job. Now they were on break as the students were working on their physical training outside.

Since they were all gathered, Tenten decided to bring up something that had been on her mind since the last time they were together. "Care to better explain yourself Kiba?" She sternly asked the Inuzuka.

All eyes were on him, except for Sakura who's were focused on the floor, and he knew full well what they wanted to hear him tell them all. "Look guys, I want to go on record as saying I agree with all of you that Naruto wasn't the fox. He never even smelled like a fox, though he could have used a shower more often. But..." He paused to make sure he was going to say this right. "The reason I said what I said, was that I was sure you all were thinking it, but didn't dare say because you didn't want to look disrespectful."

Everyone, sans a downtrodden Sakura, looked like they had just been stabbed by his words. Tenten grabbed Kiba by the collar of his jacket and looked him in the eyes angrily. "You jerk! You think we don't care that Naruto is dead?"

Kiba pushed her away forcefully and stood to look at all the Rookies. "Do any of you REALLY care about Naruto? Who here knew where he lived? Who here gave him the time of day? Who here even thought of him when he wasn't right in front of you or when someone else didn't mention him?" He paused so someone could answer, half-expecting Sakura to answer at least one since he was his teammate if not other reason.

Tenten surprised him by answering first. "I did, to all three! Naruto was like a brother to me! He was the reason I became a weapon expert in the first place!" That caught everyone's attention, especially Neji and Lee since she never even told them that story.

"Years ago when we were both still orphans, there was a bad day when some people got a hold of some kunais and shurikens and threw at him like he was a dartboard. He dodged but couldn't attack back, apparently the stupid authorities claimed he couldn't legally use self-defense." Just saying those words made her punch the wall in anger and shed some angry tears and no one could blame her. "So I grabbed the dropped ones that missed him and threw them back, my aim not so good back then." She stopped and took deep breaths to calm herself down, but glared hard at Kiba. "So don't you DARE tell me that Naruto's death means nothing to me! How can you say something like that in the first place?"

"Simple. Who here besides you, really knew anything about Naruto?" Kiba asked, and no one answered. "You claim he's a friend now, but when he was alive no one cared he lived. Me, Shikamaru, and Chouji didn't even know him that well and we were with him the most, but even we didn't see him outside school that much if at all. And since no one here's trying to prove me wrong, I must be right. I don't even believe your sadness here is really for Naruto. You guys aren't sad he's gone, you're just asking yourself 'What if it had been me?' or 'What if I'm next?' and that's why you're gloomy."

Neji stepped forward but showed no signs of impending attack. "You've got a lot of nerve saying that about our character Inuzuka-san."

Kiba just shrugged. "Nerve or not, can any of you say I'm wrong? From what I see, only Tenten and Hinata-chan are truly mourning Naruto."

"Just where is Hinata by the way?" Ino asked Neji.

"Hiashi-sama won't tell me, but Hokage-sama says she's on an important mission with Jiraiya-sama and won't be back for a long time."

"You don't think she's looking for him do you?" Ino asked.

"That does sound like something she'd do." Chouji claimed.

"I hope not." Kiba commented, regaining everyone's attention. "Don't get me wrong. I'm just saying that if that's what she's doing, then no matter what she finds, she probably won't come back here."

"Why?" Lee asked.

"Look, we all know about how Hinata-chan feels for Naruto right?" He asked, and they all nodded. "I know Hinata-chan well enough to know that if she does find Naruto, no matter how she finds him, dead or alive, then she _will_ join him." Realization dawned on everyone. "Yes, if she finds him dead, she'll kill herself. If she finds him alive, she'll stay with him wherever he is. And trust me, with how Konoha's acting now, if I was Naruto not even the promise of becoming Hokage and all the ramen I could eat could make me come back here."

"I concur with my teammate." Shino spoke up. "I even suspect that Hinata saw this coming and got out before the worst started. I think it's safe to say that if we ever see her again, it will either be with Naruto elsewhere or in a body bag."

That certainly got everyone thinking. Ino sat down next to Sakura, who had looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders the entire time. "Sakura, you okay?" The blonde asked as she lightly shook the pinkette's shoulder.

Sakura finally looked up, her eyes teary but not red. "Sorry, did you say something Ino?"

"What's wrong?" Ino asked.

Sakura wiped her eyes. "Nothing, I just had something on my mind." She hesitated to say anything, but she felt she needed to get this off her chest. "I saw my mom last night, and... it wasn't pleasant."

-Flashback-

_"Here she is Sakura. See if maybe you can talk some sense into her." Tsunade told her apprentice as the two stood before a cell door._

_"If I get her to apologize, and swear to never speak ill of Naruto again, you will not execute her?"_

_"She will be placed under permanent house arrest." The sannin said as she unlocked it and allowed Sakura to enter before closing it._

_Sakura saw her mother sitting on a bench in the cell, looking hopefully. "Oh good you're here. Did you ask the Hokage to let me go?"_

_Sakura shook her head. "No I didn't ask her anything."_

_Aina stood up. "Why not?"_

_"Because I didn't know you have been arrested until just a few minutes ago."_

_Aina grimaced. "Well I did nothing wrong. Use your connections to get me out of here now." Sakura shook her head again. "What? How can you stand there and let your mother be in prison?"_

_"Because you did do something wrong Mom." Sakura answered. "I know what law you broke, and it never was repelled so it's still in effect. Tsunade-shisho said if you apologized they would place you under permanent house arrest, but I'm not going to ask her to let you go scot-free."_

_Now Aina looked mad, this time at her daughter rather than other people in general. "I'm your mother! How can you be so uncaring to me?"_

_"Remember how you would send me to my room or give me a spanking when I was a little kid so I'd learn to follow the rules and be a better person?" Sakura calmly asked. "Same principle here. You need a time-out Mom."_

_"I didn't do anything wrong!"_

_"Yes you did!" Sakura shouted back. "You broke a law punishable by death for no more reason than you just ASSUMED it was invalid. And you shamelessly celebrated the death of a Konoha nin. Heck, even the Hyuuga's didn't celebrate the Uchiha Massacre and those clans hated each other."_

_Aina didn't look convinced of her wrong-doing. "If you're talking about the Kyuubi, there's no crime in that."_

_Sakura growled in the back of her throat. "Tell me this Mother, just who's death were you really celebrating? The Kyuubi's, or Naruto?"_

_"The two are and always have been the same."_

_"No they weren't."_

_"Yes they are!" Aina countered._

_"How could they be?" Sakura asked. "Tell me Mom, what proof do you have that Naruto was really a mountain-sized monster that wanted us all dead?"_

_"I'm your mother; I don't have to justify my decisions to you."_

_Sakura looked disgusted. "You can't, can you? You don't have proof, you don't have a motive, you don't even have an excuse. You hate him because every time you saw him all you could see is a monster, and you've convinced yourself that's all there was to see in him, haven't you? You haven't even tried to see his humanity, have you?"_

_"What humanity? That abomination-"_

_"He has a name and he was my teammate Mother!" Sakura interjected._

_Aina scoffed. "Whatever. That scum never had the right to exist and as far as I'm consider he couldn't have died soon enough. I am glad that thing you call Uzumaki Naruto is dead and the only thing I don't like is that I wasn't the one to get it done."_

_Sakura looked like she wanted to throw up. Her mother continued on about how respected she'd be for being the one who did away with the Kyuubi container if she had killed him and how upset she was that Sakura never hit him hard enough, but the medic nin tuned it out, unwilling to hear another word. She headed for the cell door._

_"Where are you going?" Aina asked, sounding pleading yet hopeful._

_Sakura turned to look at her mother. "I need some time to myself right now. Goodbye Mother." She then walked out and Tsunade locked the door. "Tsunade-shisho, I'm afraid I'm too emotionally compromised right now to offer any recommendation as to what to do about her. So... I'll trust your judgment. Can I go home now?"_

_Tsunade nodded. "Yeah, go get some rest. And be at the Academy at nine in the morning."_

-End Flashback-

Sakura sighed when she finished her recount. "I didn't see her home last night, so I'm certain Hokage-sama is going to punish her in some way. But after I got home, I realized... Mom may be executed. That…may have been the last time I ever see her." Ino placed her arm around her friend's shoulders. Sakura continued on, unaware that the rest of the Rookies had been listening in. "I feel like I gave the go-ahead for her death sentence. I wanted to ask Hokage-sama this morning about it, but I couldn't get a hold of her, just told to come here by Shizune-senpai."

"I'm sorry." was all Ino could say.

Sakura didn't relax. "The last time I saw Sasuke, he was leaving this village and I feel like all I did that night was encourage him to. The last time I saw Naruto, after we got rid of the paper bomb trap, he asked me out to celebrate and I..." She sniffled sadly before continuing. "I said he was going to get himself killed someday if he kept being stupid." More tears flowed again. "Go ahead and say what you must. Nothing anyone could say could make me feel worse than I already do."

"I doubt that." Shino stated, drawing her eyes slowly to him. "One of my beetles returned to me not too long ago. It appears there has been an execution within the last five minutes. I regard informing you Sakura that your mother was one of the sufferers."

Sakura's head dropped and the real waterworks started. She didn't say anything, but anyone could guess what was going thru her mind right then.

* * *

In her office Tsunade sat at her desk, her face buried in her hands "What have I done, Shizune? What have I done?"

Shizune, ever the faithful aid, stood next to Tsunade with Tonton in her arms. "You did what you thought was necessary, and you upheld the law which required-"

"The law that demanded execution!" Tsunade spat. "I am a doctor; I save lives, I don't seek to end them." The female Hokage sat back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "When I saw those people being hanged, I felt everything I stood for dying along with them. I have become a hypocrite to all that I stand for."

"My lady you stand for what is right and just. And that is what you did today, you ended the lives of cruel and ignorant people who gave this village a bad name. Not to mention you are a shinobi as well as a doctor and that line of work requires you to get blood on your hands occasionally. You cannot be both if you will only act as one. All in all, I think you honored Naruto's memory very well today."

Tsunade looked up and offered a small smile to his assistant. "That's one of the reasons I keep you around Shizune. You always know the right thing to say to me… that and you produce sake at a moment's notice."

Shizune smiled and bowed her head and she stepped out of the office, carrying Tonton with her.

Tsunade remained alone for a bit, simply thinking about what to do next, then there came a small knocking on her door.

"Enter." She called.

The door slowly opened, revealing Sakura, her eyes red and slightly swollen from crying, the young girl bowed to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, for… forgive me for coming here unannounced… but I felt that…"

"Sakura, you don't need to explain. I know." The slug sannin stood up from her desk and walked over to Sakura and embraced the girl in a hug. "I am deeply sorry, but I cannot excuse anyone from the law."

Sakura felt as if she was going to cry again but she kept her tears in check and returned the hug. "I… I know, Tsunade-shishou."

They remained like this for a moment, and then after they released Tsunade looked down at the girl. "Now we have to figure what we are going to do with you. Can you stay with any of your friends?"

Sakura was silent for a moment and then she said in a tone barely audible so Tsunade had to lean in to hear her. "If it's alright with you Tsunade-shishou, I would like to continue to live in my home."

"Alone?" Tsunade asked in shock.

"Yes, I consider this an act of penance for my own crimes. Naruto lived alone his entire life while the rest of us had families who loved and nurtured us. I… I figure that I can at least attempt to try and feel what he felt."

"Sakura, there is no need for you to…"

However Sakura interrupted. "I know there is no need, but I want to. Please Hokage-sama. "

"Why?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura had to compose herself to answer properly. "Tsunade-shishou, I never respected Naruto when he was alive. I never tried to be around him if it could be avoided, I never valued his contributions to our team, I can't even remember the last time I complimented him on anything. And yet..." She sniffled for a second. "Now that he's gone, I feel like my heart's been ripped out of my chest and torn to shreds before my eyes. I don't know why, but I feel I don't deserve to feel this bad for him. What right do I have to mourn him so much when I beat him up when he was alive?"

Tsunade didn't say anything, but she understood the pinkette well. 'I would have been the same way if Jiraiya had died when I was her age.' "It'll be fine Sakura. You still have people who care about you and won't judge you for this."

"Maybe, but I need to do this for Naruto. If I don't do this, I'll feel like I'm not really _mourning_ him, just regretting my own actions. And that's horribly unfair to him. Please, let me do this for him."

Tsunade thought it over and shared a look with Shizune before addressing the younger girl again. "Before I approve Sakura, tell me one thing. Just how do you care for Naruto? Now and then?"

Sakura took a moment to compose her thoughts as best she could. "I... I honestly don't know, Tsunade-shishou. I never actually hated Naruto or wished death on him. I cared enough for him to want him to be alive and well, but every time I didn't _have_ to be with him, I felt almost... compelled to stay away. Like something was _making_ me stay away from him. And while I always appreciated his kind smiles and words to me, I always felt just as compelled to act against him when he didn't do those or said something about Sasuke. I don't know how I feel about him, but I do know now that this whole thing is making me so upset I've actually got a migraine from it."

"A migraine?" The slug sannin asked.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I've had a nasty headache for days now. I've taken some medicine but it doesn't help. Is it because I feel guilty about Naruto?"

"Maybe, but I'm going to call Kurenai-san and Inoichi-san here to examine you to be sure you're alright. Can you wait for them to show up for an examination?" Sakura nodded. Tsunade then called Shizune back to her office. "Shizune, go fetch the two I just named. Tell them I've got something I want them to confirm or deny."

Tsunade's first apprentice left the room again with a nod, and the blonde herself went to her desk and pulled out a sake bottle. Sakura just sat down on a couch and waited.


	13. Chapter 13

Far away from Konoha, Jiraiya was giving Hinata some lessons. Right now he was having her stand on water while making a long tree branch hover above her hands, which were held as high over her head as she could reach. The purpose of this exercise was to get an idea of her chakra control and levels.

_'Summoning Gamabunta like that was not normal. So how did she do it? What's her secret?'_ He asked himself as he watched her perform this task almost effortlessly for the past twenty minutes. The only reason Naruto had been able to summon the giant toad, was because he was the host for the Kyuubi, so that gave him a nearly unlimited chakra reserve.

Jiraiya took the opportunity to perform a sensory jutsu that would enable him to briefly 'see' the chakra aura each ninja radiated. It was used primarily to give one an idea of how limited their jutsu usage was and their overall health, but not their element. He had waited to use this because he initially thought she wouldn't have lasted this long without needing a break. Since she proved him wrong, he was going to see for himself how much she had to offer.

The Toad Sage wasn't exactly sure what he had been expecting to find, but it certainly was surprising what he did find. Her chakra aura was incredible massive, almost high jounin level in quantity.

_'How can this be?'_ Jiraiya asked himself. _'The Hyuuga are known to not have the highest amount of chakra but the best control over what they do have. Even a jounin Hyuuga has never had this amount as far as I know. And yet... it still looks somewhat... constricted. Like it's not freely flowing thru her, what's holding it back?'_

"That's enough, come on over." He shouted to her.

Hinata dropped the branch and headed to shore where he was seated on a tree stump. "Yes Jiraiya-sama?"

"Have you ever had problems with your chakra in the past?" He asked.

"Only w-when I was t-training in my c-clan's methods. I never seemed to get them r-right or u-use the correct chakra amounts to... do them right." She shamefully admitted.

"Do you know why you were having a hard time?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't. Ev-everyone i-in the Hyuuga just told me I w-was p-pathetic and d-doomed to fail at everything. I asked for help, and m-most of the time they told me to just give up."

"What about the other times?"

"Th-then they'd say I did... didn't deserve to be stronger. That I should j-just accept my place below them and b-be grateful."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "I think I know why they said that." He saw her interest peaked. "Only someone in your clan or who used a jutsu I just did would be able to notice this, but the problem is you have too much chakra."

"Too much?" Hinata asked. "How much?"

"I'd estimate close to my own amount when I was in my twenties."

"H-h-how is th-that p-possible?" The Hyuuga heiress asked in disbelief.

"I can think of only one logical explanation." The super pervert said. "What can you tell me about your mother?"

"My mother?" Hinata asked herself. "W-well, I n-never really kn-knew my mother. I'm told she was f-from outside the clan and that's why my eyes can't s-see as far as they should and why my b-body isn't suited to the gentle fist. I... I didn't want to believe that, but when Kurenai-sensei tested my team for our element, my paper said I w-was... a water type. Everyone in my clan is an earth type. So ob-obviously, I'm n-not a full Hyuuga, and I think they hate me for it."

Jiraiya nodded slowly in understanding. "I think I see the problem here. Your clan doesn't consider you one of them, and refuses to modify your training to suit your unique needs. They likely already know you have more chakra than any of them do and would rather not see you become strong and confident enough to challenge their own power. So they handicap you and demean you to keep you weaker than them."

"Just like people have done to Naruto-kun." Hinata stated.

Jiraiya nodded. "Indeed. And like him, you have the potential to be strong enough to prove them wrong. What you need is a proper training regime, and a confidence boost. I can help you with the latter much sooner than the former, so let's start there."

"What do you suggest?" Hinata asked.

Jiraiya stood up. "I want you to shout out as loud as you can all your frustrations and anger. Just yell out what makes you angry and why. I'll even provide you with a sound barrier so you can keep your privacy and avoid alerting anyone else around."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Wha-what will th-that accomplish?"

"More than you may think. Venting can be very therapeutic when you tend to suppress everything negative. And I'm getting the feeling that you've kept everything hidden. When you were on the water, I noticed your chakra was a bit constricted, meaning you wouldn't relax. I think if you get your frustrations out of your system, it will improve your future training greatly."

Jiraiya then made a few hand signs and a barrier shimmered around Hinata. "This is a standard sound barrier. I can't hear you, but you can hear me. And since no one can hear you, don't censor yourself. Say what you want and say it loudly. It will help you out, trust me." He then turned his back to her, giving her a bit more privacy.

Hinata didn't say anything just yet._ 'He wants me to just yell out? Shout my problems to the sky? I can't do that.'_

Jiraiya glanced behind himself and saw no change in her actions. "It doesn't matter what you have to say, just say something. Start out comfortable, and go from there." He saw he was still hesitant. "Here's an idea. Say something about your family you don't like. There's bound to be something there you want to get off your chest." He turned back around.

Hinata took a deep breath._ 'Let's give this a try.'_ She closed her eyes and then spoke softly. "I... I don't like the fact that my... my clan doesn't f-feel like a family to me. They, they treat me more like... like I should apologize for breathing. Even my own f-father, who... who looks at me like he can't believe he sired me."

She paused for a moment, her eyelids and fists clenching a bit tighter now. "What did I do to deserve that? If he didn't want me, then why was he with my mother in the first place? Why blame _me_ for _his_ one-night stand? Why does everyone look at me like I can do nothing right and he can do no wrong? If they don't want me around, why did they take me away from my mom in the first place?"

The young white-eyed girl then frowned and scoffed. "Why am I asking such a stupid question? I know why they really keep me around; it's so no one else has my eyes. I'm good enough to protect but not enough to be loved by my so-called _family_." She said 'family' like such a title was a curse. "I bet the only reason they haven't already killed me was someone high up in Konoha ordered them not to."

The momentum was building and she was not slowing down. "Always treated like the weakling, always looked down upon. They don't even give me a chance; they give Hanabi extra training and consider making her the clan heir despite my birthright. Their own customs they hold in such high regard tells them they can't, but does that matter to them? No, of course not. They are so willing to toss me aside. I am not trash, I could do better if given the chance."

Her fists became clenched as she finally got down to the nit and grit, her eyes becoming hard despite their closed state. "Father always preferred Neji-niisan. He thinks I don't know but I do know. It's as plain as the nose on his face. He had hoped that he had been his child and not me. I'm not even sure me and my sister were born from the same woman. I wouldn't be surprised if that were true though, and frankly right now I don't care."

Finally the shouting started. "I HATE YOU FATHER! YOU NEVER SUPPORTED ME, AND YOU ALWAYS TREATED ME LIKE I WAS A WEAK PATHETIC CHILD WHO COULD NOTHING EXCEPT GET IN THE WAY! I AM NOT WEAK, I CAN BE STRONG! I AM NOT PATHETIC! I HELD MY OWN AGAINST NEJI-NIISAN, AND I AM NOT AN OBSTACLE! I AM A NINJA OF KONOHA, I PASSED THE EXAM, I AM ON A TEAM! I AM A HYUUGA AND I WILL SHOW YOU ALL THAT I DESERVE TO BE LOVED TOO! BUT DON'T THINK FOR ONE SECOND THAT I WOULDN'T GIVE UP YOUR NAME AND LOVE IF IT MEANT I COULD HAVE NARUTO-KUN'S INSTEAD!"

Now her volume softened, but her resolve didn't. "Naruto-kun, wherever you are, I vow to you that you will not be alone for long. If home truly is where the heart is, then my home is wherever you are. Even if that home turns out to be death itself, I'm coming to you, and doing what I should have done a long time ago."

Once she finished, Hinata took a few deep breaths and placed her hand over her quickly beating heart. _'Wow, I feel so much better. Jiraiya-sensei was right, that helped out so much. I feel... released.'_ She then stepped thru the barrier. "Thank you Jiraiya-sensei, I'm done."

"Feel better?" The Toad Sage asked as he dropped the barrier.

"So much better. You were right. I needed that." The pale-eyed girl told him.

"Good, because I'm going to check on our best lead to Naruto's location right now." He told her, earning a bright smile from her. He performed the summoning jutsu and called forth a toad.

"What's going on ol' timer?" Gamakichi said as he appeared before the two humans and hopped over to Jiraiya. When he noticed Hinata he gave her a sly wink. "And hello pretty lady."

For some reason Hinata felt a sort of shiver go down her back when the toad winked.

Jiraiya knelt down so that way he was more eye level with the small toad. "Is there any new information on locating Naruto?"

However the little orange toad held up a webbed hand. "Hold on there old man, I missed dinner to come here and tell you this, and knowing Gamatatsu and my Pop, they have already gobbled it all down. So gimme some snacks first or I won't tell you squat." He said as he crossed his little arms.

Jiraiya went red in the face. "Why you pint-sized tadpole I oughta-"

"Wait." Hinata said as she held a hand in between the two of them, then took off her knapsack and dug through the contents and after a moment she pulled out a small bag of chips. She didn't eat chips as much as Chouji did but she did occasionally snack on them. "Would these do? They are barbeque flavor." The Hyuuga said as she offered them to Gamakichi who took them immediately.

"Thanks pretty lady, and if you ever need a toad just give me a call. So long as you got some of these." He said as he tossed a toasted spud into the air and caught it with his tongue.

"Alright you little runt, enough stalling. Tell us what you have found." Jiraiya said he sat on the ground.

Gamakichi finished chewing before he spoke. "Nuthin'." He reached into the bag for another chip.

"What do you mean nothing? The contract says that Naruto is not dead so you must have found something." Jiraiya demanded. "Right?"

Gamakichi ate another chip before speaking. "Well then check it again dumb-dumb, cause according to the Elder Toad, Uzumaki Naruto does not have a Contract with the Toads." The small amphibian sounded rather crushed to say that, and chewed without enthusiasm.

The sage raised a brow, then performed several hand signs and as before a giant toad appeared, one that made Gamakichi look like a Toy Poodle when compared to a Great Dane. The larger toad opened its mouth and the big scroll rolled out as Jiraiya caught it.

The sannin unrolled the scroll and began to look over Naruto's name trying to see if there was something he had missed, and he found it.

"Well I'll be damned." He said as he tapped his finger on a space beneath the name.

"What is it sensei?" Hinata asked as she looked over his shoulder trying to see.

"Hinata, fun fact for the day, when it comes to a beast contract there are three things that make it null and void. The first is dying, as a dead person cannot summon anymore. Unless they're somehow brought back to life, but that's more speculation than anything since no one's proved it yet. Anyhow, if Naruto had been dead a large black spot would have appeared by his name, to indicate he was no longer alive to summon anymore. The second condition is if you make a contract with another beast, because you can only have one contract at a time, it's a rule that cannot be ignored. If you do sign another contract, then a small X will be shown under the name of the former signer."

He moved aside and showed Hinata, right beneath Naruto's name was a small almost unnoticeable X.

"Stupid thing is so small though, as if written by toads themselves, so how the hell were we supposed to see that thing?" Jiraiya asked the large toad who simply remained silent. Gamakichi hopped right up onto the other summoned toad, holding his bag of chips tightly.

"We don't make the rules you pervert. And if you're hard of seeing then get glasses. It's plain as day to us toads. But anyway, as much as I hate to say it, Uzumaki Naruto is no longer a Toad Summoner so he is unfortunately no longer someone we can keep tabs on. I'm sorry. He was a good guy and I'm going to miss him." He then turned to Hinata who was still staring at the spot on the scroll. "Catch you later pretty lady. Don't be afraid to call me whenever you want." Suddenly the two toads and the scroll vanished with a puff of smoke.

"Well that breaks that lead, so much for finding the gaki thru the toads. We're going to have to search the hard way then." Jiraiya said as he scratched his grey hair. He then turned and looked over at Hinata who was simply smiling as a small stream of tears fell from her eyes. "Are you alright?" He asked, wondering if something was wrong with his student.

Hinata shook her head. "No everything is fine, because now we know for sure… Naruto-kun is alive. He is out there somewhere, alive." She said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "The scroll proves he's alive."

"A good point, however a new question is now raised. If he is alive, why hasn't he tried to come back to the village or contacted anyone?"

The brain storming had begun.

"Maybe he is hurt, or being held against his will by an enemy." Hinata offered.

"No, if that was true why sign a contract with another beast instead of just summoning a toad to help him?" Jiraiya responded as he paced.

"I don't know." Hinata quietly added. "Did you ever tell him he can't have two contracts?"

"Yeah, I told him on the first day. He couldn't have forgotten that."

Hinata blinked, as if thinking smething that surprised her. "What if he did?"

"Huh?" Jiraiya asked.

"What if Naruto-kun for some reason did forget that rule?"

Jiraiya thought it over. "I don't see how, but we must keep our minds open. For now though, let's get a move on so we can reach a palce to sleep indoors."

Hinata nodded and followed her instructor as they started walking off, her pace noticeably fresher and more at ease. "Say, Jiraiya-sensei, what's the third condition for voiding a contract?"

"Oh, that's offending the summoned animals and their boss. But I doubt Naruto would do that. If hanging onto Bunta's head for hours on end didn't offend the big guy, then nothing would. Also, someone who voided the contract that way has a line drawn thru their name to ensue they never regain the right to summon again. So we can guarantee that whatever Naruto did, he hasn't upset the toads."

Hinata nodded._ 'Naruto-kun, what happened to you?' _

* * *

They reached a small town by nightfall and decided to spend the night in an inn. They checked into their room, and Jiraiya left Hinata alone while he went down to the inn's bar to do some research with a young woman.

Hinata, respecting her sensei's wishes, remained in the room.

After a quick shower, enjoying the feeling of being clean and fresh after getting sweaty, she stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in her pajamas when her right foot accidently tripped on Jiraiya's bag and it fell over, and one of its contents fell out, a single red notebook.

The young Hyuuga picked up the small notepad that had fallen out of Jiraiya's bag. She knew it was wrong to look thru other people's things, especially that of her sensei's, but she had seen him writing in it throughout their travel so far, and was dying to know what he had been writing about.

Looking over her shoulder, to make sure the door was still closed, she opened the notebook to a random page and started reading.

_Tsukikage Manako_

_by Jiraiya_

_"You came for me?" Naoki tenderly said as he stroked her tear-stained face, his fingers feeling the cool smoothness of her skin. After so long without this kind of contact, he wondered how he ever did without it, or would do without it again._

_Hitomi, feeling the gentle touch of the man, who so many in their quaint village had given up for dead, brought more tears into her eyes as she suddenly wrapped her arms around him. "How could I not, my love?" Her grip was strong, holding him tight, almost afraid that if she let him go again he might vanish once more._

_Naoki returned the embrace, simply wanting to hold Hitomi in his arms again after so long. It was like a dream come true. The kind of dream one never wants to wake up from._

_Under the light of the almost-full moon the two of them stood there, surrounded by the slightly swaying trees that moved gently in the breeze. Crickets chirped around them, and just a bit off in the distance the creek water continued to run downward, the sounds it generated adding to the touching moment. The setting seemed almost perfect, as if taken out from the pages of a story book._

_It was Naoki who broke the silence first. "Why me though, when there were so many others, so many others far better than I, why would you choose me?"_

_Hitomi pulled away from him and stared at her blonde loved one with a kind fond smile. "Because, you were the only one who believed in me, the only one who treated me like I was strong, not delicate. It was because of you I found the strength to do all that I did rather than let myself be fragile. Without you, I am nothing. To others, I'm a doll, a symbol, an idol to be seen but not touched. But when I'm with you, I can be a person."_

_Naoki almost shedded a tear for her, his crystal blue eyes shined in the moon light, almost sparkled like twinkling diamonds. "I was such a fool, a fool not to notice you before. I am so sorry that I could not have returned your love sooner."_

_It was then that Hitomi slowly, almost teasingly, unzipped her jacket, revealing the two perfectly formed orbs that were her breasts, covered only by a thin black shirt with no bra underneath. "Then let us make up for lost time." She said as she slowly began to undo the rest of her clothing while…_

"HINATA!"

The Hyuuga yelped and shut the notebook quickly, turning around to see Jiraiya standing behind her with his eyes wide.

"Sensei… I was just… your bag got knocked over and… what is this?" She asked as she held up the notebook, which the Toad Sage quickly took.

"This, my dear apprentice is what is going to pay for our entire trip." He said as he held the notebook fondly, almost as if it was a child.

"But what is it? I was just starting to get into the story and I noticed that it had some… ecchi-like qualities to it?"

Jiraiya's eyes darted back and forth, trying to come up with an excuse, but he realized he had been caught, and it was better the girl find out sooner rather then later. "Alright, while I might be a super amazing ninja, Toad Sage, and one of the Great Sannin, I am also a talented author, well known for books regarding… adult literature. As in the extremely mature kind."

When he said that, Hinata felt her face go red and hot, she suddenly knew what those toads had meant. Her sensei was a pervert.

"And this story my dear… well let's just say you inspired it. Your utter love and devotion to Naruto, being willing to do anything to find it. It's such great material for a plotline I couldn't resist. You are like a writers dream, a living muse. And so far I have been taking notes based off of things you have told me about yourself and Naruto and started to turn that into my next biggest seller."

Hinata arched an eyebrow. "And... if it does well, sales of that book are going to fund our search for Naruto-kun?"

"Correct. We currently are using the budget Konoha generally gives me to maintain my spy network, which I have to manage sparingly. My books give me extra money to live off of while I'm at it." He explained, nervously awaiting her response._ 'Please, don't let her start calling me Ero-sannin too and impede my research. I need some me time now and then.'_

"I see." Hinata told him, making him wonder what she concluded. "In that case, how can I assist you in this?"

"What?" Jiraiya asked, completely dumbfounded by this reaction.

"If this book is going to fund our search, it's not in my interest to see it's completion hindered or delayed. If I'm your student, and your muse, I should help ensure you make it as good as it can be. So how do I do that Jiraiya-sensei?

On the outside, the Toad Sage was grinning like he made a major conquest. On the inside, he was cheering like he just caught Tsunade skinny-dipping and she invited him to join. "For starters, when I need to go do some research, don't interfere." He was happy to see her nod. "Another thing is once in a while give out some suggestions on what you think the female character would say or do."

"Okay, I can do that. But I'm not posing or doing anything ecchi myself." Hinata proclaimed. _'That's saved for Naruto-kun.'_

Jiraiya held up his hands. "No sweat. Tsunade would kill me if she heard I did anything like that. And I don't mean that as a metaphor. She would literally kill me." He saw Hinata nod. "Okay, now that we have an understanding, I'm going to go back out and do some research." He pocketed his red notebook and pulled out some blank papers and a pen. "While I'm gone, I'd like you to write down some things you think would make great material for the storyline. I'll see you in a few hours." He then left the room without waiting for an acknowledgement.

Hinata looked at her writing supplies, then shrugged. "Better get started." She sat down at a desk in the room and started jotting down notes.


	14. Chapter 14

"Are you three ready for this?" Tsunade asked.

The three she addressed all nodded. They were Yuuhi Kurenai, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Haruno Sakura, currently seated in one of Konoha's interrogation rooms. They were there for one reason, to see if something was affecting Sakura's mental well-being thus resulting in her migraines.

As a doctor, Tsunade was more willing to believe it was psychosomatic pain. Sakura probably just felt bad about how things had turned out and was taking it out on herself. But when the sannin heard Sakura tell how she acted a little weird around Naruto, she started to wonder if there was a chance this migraine wasn't just caused by guilt. To ensure her student's well-being and sanity, she had to confirm the root of the problem.

_'Haruno Aina was no ninja, not by even the loosest definition of the word. So there's no way she could have actually used a mind-altering Jutsu on her own child.'_ Tsunade told herself. _'However, that doesn't mean she couldn't have paid someone else to do it for her. Ninja are mercenaries, designed to do any job if the pay's good enough. So she could have hired someone to mold Sakura into a person who didn't want anything to do with Naruto, and now that manipulation is fading but struggling to maintain itself.'_

"You know what to do. Kurenai, check for any signs of genjutsu placed on Sakura, particularly behavior-altering. Inoichi, check her mind directly for any memory or unnatural thing that can give us a clue." She told the two jounin.

"On it." They both said, and got to work.

"Mindwalk Jutsu." Inoichi said as his glowing hand touched Sakura's scalp.

Kurenai's hand glowed too and she held them over Sakura's head from the back. "Us doing both these techniques shouldn't interfere with each other, since I'm checking the outside and he's checking the inside. But how certain are you that we'll find anything Hokage-sama?"

"I am certain enough to approve of this check-up, but not certain enough to tell you what I expect to find." Tsunade answered. Kurenai nodded and went back to her work.

Inside Sakura's mind, Inoichi was about to get a big surprise. He went right to the memory center to look around. "On my left, is any memory relating to Uzumaki Naruto. While on my right, are any memory relating to Haruno Aina. In front of me, any memory related to both of them in the same context." By doing this, he'd narrow down the possibilities rather than search thru them all the hard way.

A pile of orbs, physical representations of memories, formed to his sides right away. The pile for Sakura's mother was naturally larger, due to the pinkette knowing her longer. The orbs were also variously colored, to indicate the overall emotion Sakura felt when she recalled them. The good ones were bright yellow, the brighter they were, the happier they were. The sad ones were green, the angry ones were red, the loved ones were pink and the hated ones were black. Both piles had an assortment of these.

Inoichi was a little surprised to see the colors. Despite the recent disagreement the two Harunos had, he honestly did not expect to see any black orbs in the pile of memories for Sakura's mother. He wasn't sure if he should be more surprised that in the Naruto pile, there were much fewer black orbs and much more pink ones than he expected. And if that wasn't weird enough, the black ones were only black on the edges, leaving the visible center still white.

Saving that for later, Inoichi turned towards the more important pile, the one in front of him. It was the smallest group, made up of only three orbs in a line, indicating the chronological order they were made. Another interesting feature was that they were all smaller than normal orbs, indicating they were repressed memories, meaning Sakura either didn't think about them at all or tried to forget them but subconsciously did not.

"Let's start here." Inoichi picked up the first one and looked into the memory.

_A young Sakura was having recess at the Academy, sitting by herself all alone because the other girls, the pretty popular ones, didn't want to even look at her. Ino would have been with her, but she was sick for the day, leaving Sakura to be lonely._

_She was about to eat a bite of her sandwich when she heard footsteps coming towards her. She was nervous. 'Is it another girl coming to pick on me?' She turned and saw a young Naruto, back before he wore his standard jumpsuit. "Uh... hi?"_

_"Hi." He said, quietly, like he was awaiting something bad to happen for saying it. "You looked kind of lonely so I thought... maybe you'd enjoy some company?"_

_Sakura didn't answer right away. "I... yes, I would."_

_Naruto smiled and sat down across from her, trying to keep some distance. "Thanks. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, what's your name?"_

_"I'm Haruno Sakura."_

_"Cherry blossom? Sounds fitting."_

_Sakura looked at him weirdly but not hostile. "Aren't you gonna make fun of my hair or forehead?"_

_Naruto looked like someone had stabbed him. "Why would I do that?"_

_"Everyone else does."_

_Naruto shook his head. "Well I wouldn't. Pink hair on a girl looks nice and your forehead looks normal to me. Aren't you gonna make fun of my whiskers or grades or how I have no parents like the other kids?"_

_Sakura was happy for the compliment, and instantly recognized his tone for the rest of his statement. It was the same type she had just used, the type that says 'I fully expect you to do what I'm saying'. "Your whiskers look cute, everyone gets bad grades sometimes, and no one should be insulted for being an orphan."_

_Naruto gave her a warm smile. "I like you Sakura-chan. You wanna be friends?"_

_Sakura smiled back. "Sure Naruto-kun. I don't have many so I'd like to have more." She then noticed he had no food on him. "Aren't you hungry?"_

_"No, I just ate." He said, then his stomach loudly growled as if to say 'Liar!'._

_Sakura handed him a few apple slices. "Here, if you're still hungry."_

_Naruto looked so tempted to take them, but held himself back. "Thanks, but I can't. If I do..." His eyes darted back and forth, like he was afraid someone was watching him. "Never mind, I can't take your food. I'm not allowed."_

_Sakura blinked in confusion. "Hmmm in that case, how about this?" She pulled out a coupon. "I won this in a small raffle. It's good for one free bowl of ramen at a place called Ichiraku. I'm not that big a fan of ramen so why don't you have it?"_

_Naruto hesitantly took it. "Ichiraku eh? I've never been there before. I just hope they..." He went quiet again._

_"Is something wrong Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked._

_He pocketed the coupon before anything could happen to it. "Don't worry about it. Cute girls like you shouldn't worry about anything."_

_Sakura blushed and smiled at Naruto. Suddenly the memory became fuzzy and faded._

_The scene then changed to that of Sakura going home. "Hi Mom, I'm back."_

_"Welcome home dear. How was your day?" Aina shouted back from the kitchen._

_"Good. I made a new friend today." The little girl happily exclaimed._

_"Really? Who was it? Is it another clan heir like that Yamanaka girl?" Aina asked._

_"I'm not sure. Is there an Uzumaki clan?" Sakura asked. Her only answer was the sound of glass breaking. "Mommy, what happened?" She finished putting away her school supplies and ran towards the kitchen. She saw her mother had dropped a glass with some water in it._

_Aina looked at her daughter, not moving from her spot. This was a good choice, since the glass shards were scattered all around the bottom of her feet. "What did you say?"_

_"I asked what happened."_

_"Not that. You made friends with someone named...Uzumaki?" Aina sounded like she had to force herself to say that name. Sakura nodded. "Was this a blonde boy with whiskers?"_

_"You know him?" Sakura asked. "Could he come over one of these-"_

_"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Aina screeched. "Sakura, I want you nowhere near that monster!"_

_Sakura looked hurt. "What? Why Mom?"_

_"Because that boy is evil!"_

_"Evil?" Sakura asked, thinking her mom had gone nuts._

_"Sakura, stay away from that boy!"_

_"But Mom-"_

_"No Sakura, no buts here. I said stay away from him. Understand?"_

_Sakura shook her head. "No I don't. He's-"_

_"Go to your room!" Aina suddenly yelled._

_"But Mom-"_

_"I SAID GO TO YOUR ROOM!" Aina repeated, much louder and angrier._

_Sakura ran up a flight of stairs to her room, crying, all while wondering what she had done wrong._

Inoichi didn't know what to say once that memory finished. "Whoa. So that was the first time she met Naruto. And her mother told her to stay away from him. I wonder what happened next."

He didn't wonder for long, since the second orb in succession answered that.

_"Sakura-chan, is something wrong?" A young Naruto asked._

_She nodded. "Yeah, my mom told me not to be your friend. She said... you were evil. But why would she say that Naruto-kun?"_

_Sakura only hurt more when she saw the devastated look on the blonde's face before he hung it. "I wish I knew. All the grown-ups say things like that about me. I ask why but no one will tell me anything. Jiji says they're just scared and don't realize how strong I am... but I don't believe it."_

_"You would never hurt me, would you Naruto-kun?" The pinkette asked._

_Naruto gave her eye contact again, his blue pupils brimming with fear and lightly touched by tears. "No, of course not Sakura-chan, I just want to be noticed and liked. I would kill myself before I hurt someone like you."_

_Sakura smiled. "Thank you Naruto-kun. So why don't we go play on the swings?"_

_The two kids played for a bit on the park equipment and exchanged stories, Sakura having more to talk about than Naruto. In the chat, Sakura found out Naruto was close to the third Hokage and wanted to make him proud by becoming the next Hokage. Sakura said she entered the Academy to make friends but didn't know what she wanted to do as a ninja. Her spirits lifted up when Naruto told her he was certain she'd be a great ninja. She asked if he really thought so, and he said 'Believe it!' quite possibly for the first time._

_"SAKURA!" A woman's voice screamed out in panic and anger all of a sudden._

_The two kids stopped swinging and saw Aina running towards them. Sakura stepped off the swing to greet her mother, and was appalled to see her mother pass her and hit Naruto with a direct punch to his nose. The punch sent Naruto flying off the swing and into a tree._

_"MOM?" Sakura shouted in horror._

_Aina looked at her child, her expression a mix of worry and rage. "Sakura, I told you not to be anywhere near that... that thing!"_

_"But Naruto-kun is-" She was cut off by a slap._

_"Don't you dare disagree with me on this; I don't want to see you anywhere near this boy unless you're doing what I just did. Do you understand?" Aina demanded, but Sakura refused to answer or look at her. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"_

_An Anbu appeared next to the Harunos. "Is anything wrong her ma'am?"_

_Aina must have recognized an opportunity here. "Yes, that horrid thing over there," She was pointing at Naruto, who was struggling to get on her feet and stop the blood flow from his hurt nose, "was hurting my daughter."_

_"No he wasn't!" Sakura countered to the Anbu, who either didn't hear her or ignored her and went over to pick up Naruto and flipped him onto his shoulders with little effort._

_"Don't worry; I'll take him out of here." The Anbu said before disappearing with the young boy._

_Sakura cried and looked at her mother. "Mommy, why do you hate Naruto-kun so much?"_

_"Sakura, all you need to know is that so-called boy is a beast. With every breath it takes, it's trying to hurt someone." Aina told her._

_"But Naruto-kun-"_

_"No Sakura. No. I don't want toy see you near him again, and I don't want to hear you call him 'kun' again. Save that for a good boy, like a clan heir or something." Aina claimed strongly. "Got that?"_

_Sakura sadly nodded, though she didn't agree with her mother._

"This sure isn't what I expected." Inoichi told himself, remembering the few times he saw Sakura and Naruto in the same place or heard about them from Ino. Most instances told him Sakura disregarded everything good about the orange-loving blonde, but these memories showed there had once been a friendly bond between them.

But that's not what bothered the jounin Yamanaka right now. He had years of experience in understanding how the mind works, and when he considered these two memories and what he'd seen and heard regarding the pinkette when she was older, he already had a theory or two about what he'd find. But he couldn't stop looking just yet; he needed to be certain if Aina had done something to keep Sakura in line, and looked at the final memory.

_Sakura, still a little kid, was playing a game of tag with Naruto, but they appeared to be the only ones playing. The two were in the forested area in one of Konoha's parks, where no one could see them. Both kids looked to be enjoying themselves, but Sakura was wary and always looking around herself, as if hoping not to be spotted._

_After a while, the two stopped running and sat next to each other. Sakura pulled out a small box she had placed aside and opened it, revealing a lunch consisting of two half-sandwiches, some onigiri, a juice box, and a cookie. "Let's eat, Naruto-kun." She handed him a sandwich and an onigiri before taking one herself._

_"Thanks Sakura-chan." He said before taking a bite. "Are you sure it's okay for you to play with me? Your mother seemed really upset and I don't wanna get you in trouble."_

_Sakura broke the cookie in half and gave him part of it. "It's okay. It's our little secret. I don't wanna lose one of the few friends I have. So as long as she doesn't know, we'll be fine."_

_"Hey Sakura!" Another girl's voice called out, making Naruto and Sakura tense immediately. Sakura was relieved to see it was only Ino, but Naruto was still tense. "What are you doing?"_

_"We're relaxing." Sakura answered._

_Ino briefly looked at Naruto. "With him?" At this point all Ino knew about Naruto was that he wasn't that good in anything in the academy and he wasn't one of the popular guys._

_Naruto looked and felt he was very unwelcome, but Sakura gingerly touched his hand. "He's my friend Ino. Why can't I be with him?"_

_The platinum blonde shrugged. "Nothing, I guess."_

_"Wanna join our game after we finish eating?" Naruto asked._

_Ino smiled. "Why not?"_

The memory almost fast forwarded from there, with Inoichi seeing glimpses of what happened. He saw the three kids play tag then go home for the night. And the next morning, the memory resumed it's normal course.

_"Bye Mom, see you after class!" Sakura said before trying to open the door._

_"Not so fast Sakura." Aina said, making her daughter stop in her tracks. "I got a call last night from Mrs. Yamanaka, asking if you could come over one of these days." Aina's eyes suddenly become much colder. "And she wanted to know if the Uzumaki boy would come with you. Now why would she ask if he would be with you?"_

_Sakura got nervous. "Umm... I don't know Mom."_

_"Liar! You're still trying to be friends with that creature aren't you?"_

_Sakura shook nervously. "Mom, why can't I? What's so wrong about him?"_

_Aina chose to grab the collar of Sakura's shirt rather than answer. She didn't lift her child up, just tugged enough to ensure she had Sakura's full attention. "Listen to me Sakura and listen good. This is the last time I'm going to say this. I don't want to see, hear, or think about you being anything even remotely friendly with that boy. If I find out you've done anything that looks like you're still his friend even one more time, so help me Kami I will throw you out on the streets. Am I clear?"_

_Sakura sadly nodded, tears going down her cheeks. "Y-yes Mommy."_

_Aina released her grip. "Good. And I'll have my eyes and ears open to make sure you obey me. I find out you still like being around him, you'll never come back here. Now get going or you'll be late."_

_Sakura ran out of the house, crying a lot. When she got to the Academy, her tears had slowed but not stopped. They got worse when she saw Naruto greet her with a smile. "Hey Sakura-chan!" He warmly greeted her, then grew concerned. "What's wrong?"_

_"Please, Naruto, I need you to leave me alone." She sadly asked him._

_He was worried. "What happened? What can I do to help?"_

_Sakura wanted to tell him the truth, but she feared someone would see and tell her mother. "Just leave me alone Naruto. That's all you can do." Not waiting for an answer, she left him behind and went inside the building. In the classroom she saw Ino already seated. "This is all your fault." She quietly said to herself._

The memory ended, and Inoichi felt like he wanted to throw up. "Okay, I think I know what happened, but I'm going to check a few more sources to be absolutely sure."

* * *

Kurenai stopped her examination of Sakura and looked at Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, from what I've seen, there are no genjutsus placed on Sakura's person. So she can't be under someone's control. I even checked more than one to be certain."

Tsunade nodded. "So the answer lies in what Inoichi-san uncovers. Let's just hope it's safely treatable."

Kurenai took a seat as they waited, and after about fifteen minutes passed Inoichi finished his work and returned to his own body. Sakura briefly lost her balance and almost fell out of her chair, prompting Kurenai to get up and catch her. "Did you find anything?" The genjutsu expert asked the mind walker.

Inoichi couldn't respond right away; he looked like he needed to hit something. "Yeah, I think I found our answer." He even sounded like he wanted to hit something.

"What? What is it?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, what's your first memory of Naruto?" Inoichi asked.

The pinkette had to think it over. "I don't know. I think it was him acting up in class or something like that."

"It wasn't." Inoichi told her. "You actually met him during a lunch break and became his friend right away. You were probably the first friend he ever had." Sakura looked shocked.

"Inoichi-san, did you find anything that points to mental control of her?" Tsunade asked.

The Yamanaka shook his head. "Technically, no Hokage-sama. Although what I did find may count as a form of that, but not to the degree you may be thinking."

"What do you mean?" Both Tsunade and Sakura asked.

"It's a long story that I cannot summarize, so I'll start from the beginning." Inoichi started, taking a seat. "Sakura, you may not remember any of this, or at least not the way I'm telling it, but this is what I saw in your subconscious memory. You first met Naruto at the Academy when you were feeling lonely. You were glad to have a friend who like Ino didn't make you feel like you should be ashamed of yourself. You were excited to have him as a friend, but when you told your mother she was less than thrilled and ordered you to end any relationship with him."

Sakura listened on with wide eyes and much interest, her migraine aching but ignorable for now.

"You chose to ask him later why your mother would say such a thing, and he said he didn't know. At that point in time Naruto honestly had no clue why people seemed so hateful of him. He wasn't even the prankster we think of him as by then if I remember correctly. Anyway, you felt bad for him and decided to still be friends despite your mother's protests. She gave you another warning and you decided to be friends in secrecy, hoping she'd never find out."

Sakura felt a small spike in the migraine right then.

"However, one day when Ino joined you two, Ino must have told my wife about it thinking it would be nice to do so more often. My wife called your mother hoping to arrange a play-date for the three of you, and your mother decided enough was enough. She threatened to disown you if she had any reason to believe you didn't loathe Naruto as much as she did."

Sakura gasped, feeling the migraine once again leap, this time a great deal of pain shot through her and she started to cry. "N-n-no, Mom wouldn't do that, would she?" Kurenai and Tsunade looked equally mortified.

"She did." Inoichi sadly confirmed. "You hated it, but your child mentality told you it was more important to please your mother than have Naruto as a friend, so you ended the friendship that day. But you never told him, making him want to fix the problem. After a while, to keep yourself from doing something you feared would make you homeless, you started to act out against him and insulted him because you feared your mother had eyes everywhere and could see and hear all you did. You hated it, but you couldn't do anything else or even tell Naruto why because you didn't want your mother to hate you. Over time, to make it easier on yourself, you did it so much you actually repressed any fond memories of Naruto to the point you forgot why you were so mean to him. Your 'act' became real."

Sakura looked like she was going to throw up. _'I... I couldn't have done all that. That's so... horrible.'_

Inoichi wasn't done yet. "I'm afraid it goes deeper than that. You see, despite how you were forced to act, deep down you never stopped caring for Naruto. You just didn't allow yourself to express it that much. But it did affect your behavior. You insulted him because you were afraid to sound friendly to him, and you hit him because your mother placed the idea in your head that was what you were supposed to do. You hated doing it, but you didn't know how else to act. You did manage to be nice to him most of the time, but your act made you feel compelled to ensure it didn't put you at risk of your mother's wrath."

"This also affected your behavior regarding other people. This happened around the time you ended your first friendship with Ino. Apparently you blamed her for the fact that your mother found out you and Naruto were friends in secret, and felt she betrayed you. I think you may have used Sasuke as an excuse to end your connection to her in case anyone asked. Which brings me to another point of interest, You may find this hard to believe Sakura, but after looking thru several of your memories, I believe your so-called love for Sasuke was a cover... for your real feelings for Naruto."

Sakura jerked in place as if electrocuted for a single instant. "What?" Even Tsunade and Kurenai were particularly interested in hearing this claim, considering every amount of Sakura's love had been focused on the Uchiha boy for as long as most of them could remember knowing the girl.

"Yes. It's hard to explain, but... I guess after hearing your mother threaten you like that, you wanted to keep her from suspecting anything she didn't want to see. You saw that Sasuke was liked by several girls and he was a clan heir, someone your mother encouraged you to be friends with, so you ended up deciding he was 'safe' to like. You couldn't erase your feelings for Naruto so you projected them onto Sasuke, and did so with more than enough effort to make everyone believe you adored him, almost obsessively, but enough to make your mother believe you were doing what she wanted you to do. At the same time, it gave you an excuse to end things with Ino and attempt to gain acceptable from the popular crowd to replace your lost friends. But ultimately, you only did this because you feared losing your mother's love. Had that not been a problem, you would have grown to love Naruto instead of pretending to love Sasuke."

Sakura didn't know what to say, but oddly she couldn't bring herself to disagree with the blonde man. "Are you certain about this?"

He nodded. "Yes. So I can only conclude that you were not brainwashed to act out against Naruto, just strongly encouraged to. But you held a measure of resistance to that encouragement, making you Naruto's friend and enemy at the same time. Without Sasuke around for you to keep using as a shield, you probably found yourself much less encouraged to act out against Naruto, and with the more time you spent with him on missions you found yourself having a harder time being spiteful to him, didn't you?"

Sakura nodded, knowing full well that argument was true. Even though Sakura had always felt some degree of a need to be away from Naruto, the times when she had no choice or no overwhelming need to do so, she actually enjoyed Naruto's company a bit. Especially during the mission to the Moon Country about a month ago. She had a lot of fun on that one, and she credited most of it to him.

"So how do you explain the migraine then?" Tsunade asked.

"My theory... is that it's her true feelings fighting to surface now in the wake of hearing Naruto's death. Without Sasuke around to help her keep the act up, and her being old enough to decide on her own who she wants to be friends with despite her mother's wishes, Sakura's self-preservation act of disliking Naruto is crumbling but it's so ingrained into her behavior she doesn't know how to accept the rising change in perspective. The migraine is like two halves of her mentality fighting for control of her, one half being the act that's kept her safe, and the other being the part that wants to be free."

Tsunade nodded slowly. "I see. So it's a battle between two mental foundations, and when one wins, the migraines will disappear and Sakura will have a stable personality and behavior again."

"Is there anything you can do to end it?" Sakura asked.

"The only way to end it, is for you to accept who you are and what you want Sakura. You're having a crisis here, trying to be two people at once, the one your mother expects you to be, and the one you would have been had she not put so much pressure on you otherwise. You need to resolve your own issues here. What means more to you, pleasing your mother, or being yourself? Naruto's death has made you extremely conflicted on that balance and you don't know what to do and that's tearing you apart. If you want this to end, you'll have to make a choice on what really matters to you." Sakura was about to speak, but Inoichi raised his hand to silence her. "Before you answer Sakura, remember this, both Naruto and your mother are dead now, so it doesn't matter what either of them would say about your decision. Instead, ask yourself what do you want to believe? Do you want to go thru life making decisions based on what others approve of, or because you know it's the right choice?"

"The right choice obviously." The pinkette answered.

"Then prove it." Inoichi added. "Think long and hard about your feelings about Naruto, and when you're sure you have your answer, tell us what they are. Not right now though. How about at the end of the week." Sakura nodded. "Good. Do this, and I'm certain your migraine will go away."

"It actually feels a lot weaker right now by the way." She commented.

"Good. That means you're on the right track to knowing who you really are."

Sakura was silent for a moment. "I… I would like to go home now." No one objected, and they watched her leave.

Tsunade then approached Inoichi. "I wish for you to do me a favor, please send your daughter to check up on her everyday." She said.

"Of course Hokage-sama"

"Thank you. I fear that poor girl is not going to last long in an empty house."

* * *

It was nearly sunset when Sakura returned home. Opening the door to her house, out of habit she called out "I'm home" expecting her mother to greet her, only to remember she was alone now.

Sakura looked around at the empty home, not a sound in it. "This must have been what it had been like for Naruto, coming back to his apartment day after day, only to find it empty, quiet, alone." The pink-haired ninja said slowly as she removed her sandals and walked into the kitchen, turning on the light.

She walked over to the fridge, not feeling very hungry. She got out some meat and cheese, and then walked over to the pantry to get some bread, making herself a simple sandwich. Her mind wasn't on the task, but she was briefly glad to have her hands occupied.

Sakura sat down at the table with the sandwich sitting on a plate in front of her. She did not pick it up or eat it, she simply stared at it, as if eating had suddenly become foreign to her.

"I'm alone." She said aloud, as if hearing her own voice would make up for the fact there was no one else around.

When Sakura had told Tsunade that she had been willing to live alone, a fact had escaped her mind. She had never truly been on her own before. She had always spent time with her mother, friends, or her former teammates, always used to some measure of company. Sure, she had her occasional times of privacy, but actual solitude was new to her. Now solitude was all she had, and it was lonelier than she had anticipated.

There was suddenly a small drip sound. Sakura looked down and saw on her plate was a drop of water. She looked up at the ceiling, wondering if there was a leak but when she saw none. She touched her eyes, which were wet with tears.

She was crying again, not at the death of Naruto, not for her dead mother, but because she was afraid. She was afraid of being alone.

"Naruto, no wonder you didn't try to stop being my friend. Being alone all your life must be the worst kind of hell a person can experience. I thought I could handle this, but..." Her tears fell harder. "No, I can't give up in the first hour. I owe it to you to understand your pain. If I don't, I'm no better than everyone who celebrated your death."

She finally took a bite of her sandwich, but she swore it had no taste.


	15. Chapter 15

_Ever wonder who the best Naruto fanfic writer on this site really is? Who fans favor the most? Go to the poll on my profile and vote for a chance to find out who that is. 50 names have been selected, nominated not just by myself of course, for you to choose from. Poll will be open until the end of 2011 or when a significant number of people have voted. Do NOT leave your vote in a review, it will not count._

* * *

The ringing of the alarm clock awoke Naruto from his sleep. The blonde groaned as he slammed his hand down on the alarm to shut it off. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. After getting up off his futon, dressed in grey sweatpants and a white tank top, he walked over to the window and stared outside. "Just another grey misty morning here in Kiri. Even the sunrises are grey." He said with a half-smile. He then went to the bathroom to shower.

He stood there letting the hot water hit his face as he rubbed the bar of soap all over his body.

A few weeks had gone by and Naruto had mostly adjusted to his current lifestyle. He got used to having no memories or anything really defining about him, save for the necklace around his neck. At the moment that and the giant fox which inhabited his body were the only clues to his past. He also got used to spending most of his time with his team and his nights to himself. He had yet to get used to the layout of Kiri so he saved going out to get anything for when he was with his team.

After a few more minutes he stepped out of the shower and started to dry himself off.

So far being with his team had yet to be a problem, Kasumi was always nice to him and willing to help him out. Naruto knew she felt bad for him being in the situation he was in, but that same situation meant he was in no condition to reject charity. Charity was the only thing now keeping him fed, clothed, warm, and reasonably sane. But lately she couldn't give him more time as she had her wedding to her fiancée to get ready for. It was a small ceremony, but still something that required a lot of her attention as it got closer, so that left him and Shiori to themselves most of the time.

Wrapping a towel around his waist he stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to his drawers and pulled out some clothing.

In his free time he had gotten to learn about this village, thinking maybe it would help bring some memories back, in case this was where he came from.

Kirigakure was located on the largest island in the Land of Water. It was surrounded by a number of smaller islands, which were under the protection of the ninja village. They often traded and even sent their children to live and work there.

He also learned the Land of Water was also prone to weather hazards such as rainstorms and hurricanes, which contributed to the ever present mist, something he was still trying to get used to.

The design of the village was that of a star fortification. The wall design around the village was that of a seven point star, a definite military style which had been developed during the rule of the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, who transformed the once circular walls into its current star pattern. The walls had been made from basic grey stones that blended in with the mists that surrounded the land, almost making the village invisible to those who did not already know where it was.

The village itself was divided up into four districts, known as The Sectors, which started at the outer layer of the village until it moved into the center. The First Sector, which was the largest, was the Civilian area. This was where a great deal of the village's commerce took place, and where a number of foreign traders and merchants came to make their deals regarding imports and exports with the village. The inhabitants who weren't ninja or from a clan lived here too, making it the sector he and Shiori lived in.

The Second Sector was for those in service to the military, ninja and ordinary militia soldiers used for village defense and police work. This area was mainly filled with armories, ninja-specific stores, dojos, and barracks. The Ninja Academy was also located here where the newest generation of Kiri ninjas were trained. However at the moment militia troops were the majority when it came to the village defense. Even after his reign, Yagura's policies still had left a deep wound. Due to the results of the Academy's 'kill your classmates in order to advance' requirement, which was no longer practiced thanks to the late Momochi Zabuza, many parents were still fearful of allowing their children to become actual ninja. And due to this lack of ninja, teams were made up of three people, two genin and their sensei, rather then the traditional team of four.

The Third Sector was reserved for clans and their estates, making this where Kasumi lived. Being in a clan was one of the best ways to gain authority in the village's politics. Clan heads were guaranteed a place on the village council, and were granted certain privileges. While the civilians were allowed a representative to voice their opinions and concerns in the council meetings, they were not given the right to vote, so they did not have any say in the politics. While there were a number of clans, very few of them had a kekkei genkai, all but a handful had survived, and those who had were either very old or very young.

The Fourth and final Sector was the Government Sector, and this was the sector where the Mizukage resided. It was where all important decisions of the village was made, things such as foreign alliances, government spending, internal and external issues were resolved and dealt with. It was also where any ambassadors for other countries or villages were received.

At the very center of the village, was an ivory fountain. It had been created by the founder of the village, the First Mizukage. He created the fountain himself, as a place where villagers could come and get free water, and as a place where ninjas could test for their element. They tested for their element by placing a single finger in the water and emitting their chakra, which reacted with the water in one of five ways. Darkened water means earth, boiling water means fire, rippled water means water, swirling like a mini whirlpool meant air, and jumping like many small geysers means lighting.

Kasumi had taken Naruto down there weeks ago, and his water swirled, revealing he was an air element.

Once dried and dressed, Naruto looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a light brown T-shirt with two green stripes going vertically in the middle. It was slightly tight so it showed off his body muscles. He also sported a pair of loose grey shorts with pockets on both sides to hold things, with a ninja pack, a gift from Kasumi that he had strapped to his left hip side. His brown boots were tied tightly, and pulled on his red fingerless gloves. And finally he got an accessory which he purchased himself, although his sensei and teammate thought it weird, goggles

While shopping at the thrift store he had seen the goggles just hanging there. They were special one-way lenses, he could see through but no one else could see in. They were held with a type of worn looking black leather. The store owner had said they were all purpose goggles, good for industrial work, swimming, and even missions. And although Naruto could not explain it, he liked the eyewear and had bought them without a second thought.

And now they hung around his neck while he tied his headband to his forehead. He was ready to go. He was supposed to meet Kasumi and Shiori at the ramen shop for breakfast.

* * *

"He's late. If he doesn't get here soon I'm going to order and eat without him." Shiori grumbled as she stared the breakfast menu. Not that she needed to in order to know what they served.

"Impatience is a poor quality for a ninja. Besides I seem to recall you not always being so punctual when you first joined my team." Kasumi told her student as she sipped her tea.

"Oh that's not fair, you kept switching up your dates and times every time, Hikaru-kun and I would arrive at the place you told us, only to find a note you had left, saying you wanted to meet at a different place two hours later or before."

Kasumi smiled. "One must always be prepared for sudden changes, not everything happens the way it is planned. It is better to arrive early and scope out the situation then just showing up at the suggested time."

Shiori looked at her sensei for a moment and then added "And also because you're mean and partially crazy."

Kasumi laughed. "Just a little bit."

"What's going on sensei? You have been acting really strange this morning." Shiori asked.

"Oh you'll see, we just need to wait for Naruto-kun to show up."

"Knowing that gaki he is still in bed drooling into his-"

However she did not get to finish, because the blonde boy was yelling at them as he moved his way through the crowd. "HEY GUYS!" Naruto said running up to them and plopping down on the stool in the middle of them. "Sorry that I'm late."

"Oh no, take your time, I mean Kami-forbid you arrive on time while we sit here and starve." Shiori said at him while the blonde rolled his eyes.

"Would it kill you to actually say something nice to me?" He asked.

"Probably not, but why take the chance?" She answered with a grin as she placed her order.

Once everyone had gotten their food, Kasumi looked at her two students and cleared her throat. "Alright then you two listen up. I have got some exciting news, we have got a mission."

Shiori nearly choked on her orange juice, and after a few moments of coughing she looked at her sensei with surprise and a bit of skepticism. "A real mission, are you serious? It's not just some little D-Rank to find a rich lady's lost cat?"

Kasumi nodded. "Yep. A real mission to the Land of Lighting."

Since both the Water Daimyo and the Lightning Daimyo were good friends the two lords had encouraged their villages to be the same. And thus Kiri and Kumo had been extended upon the treaty that had been made between the villages since the last shinobi war. They shared more missions with each other and there was good trade between the countries. This was the main reason both villages excelled in kenjutsu. However this was all merely a public face, beneath the surface the villages still competed heavily with each other just as they all did. For the Peace Treaty was still as fragile and shaky as it had always been, even after all these years.

"When do we get to go?" Shiori asked, sounding more eager then she had sounded in weeks.

Kasumi smiled. "After we finish breakfast. We are going to do one last training session and then we go over to the Mizukage's office, then we leave after we have gotten the details."

* * *

"My Lady, I strongly advise against this." Ao said as he stood behind Mei who was reading from her small book.

"Well Ao-san, while I highly value your opinion, I really don't care what you think. It is my decision and I have chosen Squad Eight." She said as she turned the page.

"But we have three other teams you could choose from, very fine teams. Both Squad Four and Squad Two have returned from their missions, and Squad Six has been asking for a mission for weeks now and I am-"

"Annoying me greatly at the moment, and I do hate annoying men." She said in her very happy voice, which proved her point since Ao immediately shut up.

Mei finished reading her page and after folding the corner to remember her place she closed it and turned to her Military Advisor. "Now then, as regards to your worries, I do see the issue. But we must test our newest ninja's abilities, and I find the best way to do that is thru field work."

Ao remained silent and did not speak until Mei nodded to him.

"Thank you Ma'am. It is just that he is not just a ninja, he is the Kyuubi, and he could perhaps be the strongest ninja in existence, even stronger than Yagura-sama if properly trained. However if we send him out now there is a chance he could be killed before we have a chance to harness that power."

"Someone already tried to kill him Ao-san. They threw him into the ocean hoping he would drown, and yet he survived the harshness of our country's waters and the seas between us and the mainland. I think he will do just fine in the Land of Lightning."

* * *

The Kiri Hotsprings were well known in the ninja world, even greater then the Hot Water Country. The springs had been discovered by the Second Mizukage, and he opened it up to the public, after giving legal ownership of it to the Midorigami clan under the promise they not keep it to themselves.

And the Second Mizukage, being a deviant lover of women, had created a law that had to this day remained unchanged, the-

"Peeping Law?" Naruto said, more than a bit surprised.

Kasumi nodded. "Yes it was created in order to hone a ninja's spying skills, by allowing them to watch a target without getting caught. However it was actually developed because the Second Mizukage was a pervert, and to make sure things were fair, a small amendment was added to the law. 'If you get caught, you get beaten by the one who caught you.' It's actually how I met my fiancée." She laughed and blushed as she remembered that day.

"Why would anyone come here then?" Naruto asked.

"Part of it is because it's the only hot springs within a hundred miles. The other part is the training actually works better than you may give it credit for. The peeper is to be outside the walls and tests their spying skills to see if they can peep without getting caught. If they do, then they can be more effective on the job. Also, the bathers are encouraged to be on the alert for spies, thus training their awareness of the surrounding area. In the end, both get extra help you can't learn from a sensei. Also, this policy works for both men and women, so women are allowed to peep at men too."

"But don't the women resent having their privacy invaded?" Naruto asked.

They walked in thru the front arch moving past a few of the customers who had come to the hot springs simply to soak and forget all their troubles. And Naruto could not help and stare at three girls who walked past him with bathing towels wrapped around their chests. Only to be pulled away by Shiori. "Come on, put your tongue back in your mouth." She said as she dragged him. "We are here to train."

Kasumi took her two students to the back of the facility. "Everyone who comes here is aware of this policy Naruto-kun. It's been around for a long time and we do have a sign in front telling them the terms of the law. So anyone coming here knows the risk they're taking. Also, the added bonus of being allowed to punish the peeper themselves legally as long as they don't kill him makes them feel better. And you may find this hard to believe, but sometimes the women, and men too, actually want to be peeped at. It's sort of a game to everyone involved."

She slides open the door, revealing a large rectangular pool filled with spring water. Steam rose out of the pool and seemed to obscure everything in front of them.

"Wow it's hot in here." Naruto said and both Kasumi and Shiori stared at him.

"Why thank you Captain Obvious, and did you know that sky is blue?" Shiori said as she rolled her eyes.

"Alright you two, down to business, we are here today for Water Surface Walking practice."

Shiori groaned. "Oh come on Sensei, that's a Rookie 101 lesson."

"It never hurts to go back to the basics. Besides, Naruto-kun has yet to practice this technique."

"Um... what is Water Surface Walking?" Naruto asked.

"It is a basic technique that all ninja's learn, to gain better chakra control. To do this, the user has to be emitting a constant stream of chakra from the bottom of their feet and using the repellent force to walk across the water's surface." Kasumi explained.

"Is this like that Tree Climbing technique we practiced the other day?" Naruto asked, remembering how he had spent thirty minutes falling onto his back before he had mastered it, walking upside down on a tree branch and hanging there like a bat.

"Yes Naruto-kun, it is similar. However this one is different because the amount of chakra that needs to be emitted changes constantly. Allow me to demonstrate." Kasumi started walking backwards, still facing her students, and when she reached the edge she took a step backward and stepped onto the water as if it was solid.

"That is so cool." Naruto said, amazed by this action.

"It is isn't it, and here is a cooler part." Kasumi suddenly spun around and started skating on the water like it was ice. She vanished into the mist and then suddenly came back out doing a perfect twirl, landing on the solid ground again, giving a small bow.

"Oh that is just showing off." Shiori smiled as she shook her head.

"I prefer to think of it as showing the potential of a mastered technique." Kasumi replied. "For now Naruto-kun, you need to focus on standing on the water rather than skimming atop it. Try to stand on it and not sink."

Naruto nodded, channeled chakra to the bottom of his feet, and stepped onto the water. For a second it worked but then his foot went under. Fortunately his other foot was still on the ground so he pulled back and stayed dry.

**"Since I'm sure they'd like to get this done quickly, unlike the time on the trees, mind if I help out a bit?"** The voice of the fox rang in his ears. Apparently signing the fox contract gave the Kyuubi a direct link to speak to Naruto outside the mindscape.

It freaked Naruto out a bit when the female fox suddenly began talking to him. He was still unused to having another being living inside of him.

Not waiting for an answer, the Kyuubi quickly gave Naruto his memories of how to perform the water-walking exercise. Naruto jolted briefly, then felt confident enough to try again. This time, with both feet, he stood on the water like he was born able to.

Both Kasumi and Shiori gazed upon this feat with awe, Kasumi being the only one smiling. _'Naruto-kun, you never cease to amaze me.'_

* * *

Kasumi stood in front of the Mizukage's desk with Shiori on her right and Naruto at her left. And they each bowed their heads to her. "Honorable Mizukage, we are honored that you have chosen our team for this mission." Kasumi said.

"Yes, I have decided to see how well Kiri's newest ninja has developed under your tutelage." The red-haired woman beckoned the blonde to step forward which he did, and she motioned for him to speak.

"Kasumi-sensei has been a good teacher to me, and very helpful in my transition to living here, my lady." Naruto smiled.

"That is good to hear. Now on to your mission." She said she took out a file and opened it. "We have received a message from our ally Kumo, saying there has been an issue that they cannot currently attend to and are seeking our aid. It would appear to be happening at Pōto no Tenshi. It is a port city on the southern side of their coast, their most profitable and popularly used by traders and merchants, and it would seem that the local governor of that region has broken away from Land of Lightning. He ceased paying tribute to the Lightning Daimyo and has cut off all communications. At first glance it appears to be someone trying to secede from the country, and the Raikage suspected foul intent there." Mei said as she looked at the team.

Shiori stepped forward and bowed her head. "Forgive me Lady Mizukage, but wouldn't this be more a matter for the country's military to deal with? A simple rebellion seems hardly necessary for ninja intervention."

Mei was silent for a moment and then nodded her head. "You are correct. The Lightning Daimyo sent some of his personal forces to deal with the matter, two-hundred strong actually, and they were all killed. Every body, or at least parts of them, was sent back to the Daimyo, their throats ripped open as if by an animal."

Kasumi looked alarmed. "Wait, you say they were ripped open?"

Mei nodded. "Correct. Why? You getting squeamish about the mission now?"

Kasumi crossed her arms. "I didn't get to be a jounin by being squeamish Ma'am."

"Good. Now, as I was saying, the injuries clearly show damage done by humans and weapons, but they appear at first glance like savage animal assaults. Sound familiar?"

Kasumi and Shiori shared a look. "Very."

Mei nodded. "This is the true reason I selected your team for this mission. While I know that there is a certain amount of risk involved here, given the intel, your lack of big missions recently, and your new member, I also believe you will have the motivation to succeed and the awareness to not get caught again. Am I wrong?"

Kasumi grumbled to herself. "On those matters Lady Mizukage, no you are not. However, this is one enemy I suspect we should not-"

"I'll accept!" Shiori cut in.

Kasumi faced her student. "Shiori?"

Mei clapped her hands once. "Perfect. That's the kind of initiative I like to see. Now, if you don't mind Midorigami-san, I suggest you get your team ready to head to the northern port. Transport should already be ready and awaiting you." She then handed them a document to give to the captain for permission to go along, as well as cover the return trip.

Kasumi frowned, but took the document anyway. "Alright then, we'll be heading out."

Naruto suspected there was something involved here but he kept his mouth shut.

Squad Eight exited the Mizukage's office and standing there in front of them was a man with his arms crossed behind his back. "Well hello Kasumi, going off on your mission then?" The male jounin asked.

"Yes we are Yoshiro-san, sorry, were you hoping to get it?"

This was Ukita Yoshiro, the leader of Squad Six, and rival to Kasumi. He was a tall man, with amber colored eyes and dressed in a typical jounin outfit. He had longer-than-normal brown hair which he tied back into a ponytail. Both he and Kasumi had been rivals since their days at the Academy. Sometimes it was hard to say whether they were friendly rivals or bitter rivals.

"Anything you can do, I can do better." Yoshiro stated.

"Please don't break out in song now. I've got enough on my mind to deal with." Kasumi said, then gave Shiori a look as if silently adding 'No thanks to you'.

Yoshiro then looked at Naruto and smirked. "Ah, the new meat eh?" His gaze returned to Kasumi. "Just don't lose another one this time."

Now Kasumi was pissed. She grabbed his neck, and Naruto saw her hands glow a soft red. Yoshiro tried to pull the jounin woman's hand off him but he couldn't and steam started to emerge from around her hand, making him hiss in pain then yell. "That was uncalled for Yoshiro-teme." She then let go, and Naruto saw the man's neck was completely red like a bad sunburn. "Just be glad I need to get going, or I'd use my hands again."

Naruto looked at her in utter confusion, but his sensei couldn't answer as she was taking a long drink from her water bottle. When she stopped she just walked away, and her students followed.

* * *

It was night in Pōto no Tenshi, the moon hung the sky shining light down upon the hideous incident that had just occurred. A citizen of the port city, just the average fishermen, was laying on the ground in the pool of his own blood, with a dark demon standing above him. He had short black hair, which looked like it was regularly cut with a kunai. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and he smiled a shark like smile, revealing a row of filed, razor sharp fangs.

He hissed out one word, "Food." And suddenly he fell upon the man, sinking his teeth into the flesh swallowing a large amount of the warm blood.

Stepping out of the shadows was a woman with pure white hair, although she looked like she was still in her early twenties. A large scythe rested against her shoulder.

"Honestly Takeru, must you eat like some sort of rabid animal? It sickens me on so many levels."

Looking up at his partner with a bloodied face the now-named Takeru growled. "I must feed Beniko. You would not let me eat when the soldiers came." He said as he licked his fangs.

"That is because we needed to send them back as a message, the message being 'Do Not Return to This Location'. And I think we made it perfectly clear." The now-named Beniko said.

"This is pointless and a waste of time. Why did we agree to work with this fool?"

"One, because if we did not we would be on a pointless search for some turtle like the rest of our criminal counterparts. Second, because we are offered total amnesty to make sure the citizens of this port does not rise up against our employer. And you know what that means."

Takeru smiled wickedly and nodded. "Lots of food for me, and bodies for you."


	16. Chapter 16

Kasumi and her team were on a boat heading towards the southern coast of the Land of Lightning. It was a ferry ship, which transported people from the islands to the mainland. At the moment though there were very few people heading the direction of Lightning Country, so there were only about twenty other people on the Ferry.

A few of them were sitting down on the lower deck playing cards and gambling for a few ryō notes. Others were just conversing about various things, such as the weather, the world, and so on.

At the moment Naruto was leaning on the railing on the second level of the ferry looking over the sea and enjoying the breeze. It felt good but in an unfamiliar way. Sort of like how a tourist enjoys a site rather than a local enjoys their home. It puzzled Naruto, because it almost implied he didn't live near the sea originally.

"Didn't think you'd be here doing this." Kasumi said as she approached him from behind and leaned on the railing to his left. "After floating out at sea for days I figured you'd hate being near it."

Naruto shrugged. "Guess not."

"Do you remember anything about drifting around in the ocean?" Kasumi asked, thinking that after several weeks, he might be able to remember something.

The blonde thought for a moment. "If I try hard enough I can remember rain and really big waves, but not much else. Where's Shiori by the way?"

"She's in the bunks. She gets a bit seasick. It happened the last time we traveled too. Same with the return trip, but I think she was more upset about what happened before."

She hung her head, looking quite sad, and she knew Naruto was giving her a curious look. She could tell he was curious to know more, but afraid to ask.

After a moment, she sighed and looked at her new student; it was time to tell the truth.

"Naruto-kun, you remember us telling you I had a student before you named Hikaru?" She asked, and he nodded. "This mission we're on is going to be tough on Shiori-san and me because... it was in the Land of Lightning that Hikaru-kun died."

"Really?" Naruto asked.

Kasumi nodded. "Yeah, and that's not the worst part. Judging from what Lady Mizukage told us, I suspect we may encounter the person responsible for it."

"How can you be sure?"

"Remember how we were informed there were several dead bodies that look mutilated and torn apart, particularly on their necks?" She asked, and he nodded again. "Perhaps if you knew what happened on our last mission, you'd understand why she was so eager to take on this one."

(Flashback)

_It was night, and the Kiri ninja were camping out in the mountains._

_Squad Eight's mission had been a success. They had rescued the daughter of the Lightning Daimyo, who had been kidnapped by members of the Yakuza, from her home. Finding the kidnappers had been the difficult part, beating them senseless had been very easy, considering there had not been a ninja amongst them, and those prepared for ninja expected Kumo nin rather than Kiri nin. _

_The frightened 8 year old had been returned to her father, and tomorrow morning they would be back on the ferry heading towards Kiri, and to a celebratory dinner._

_But for now, they were content to spend one more night in Lightning Country. _

_Shiori and Hikaru were sleeping in their tents while Kasumi stood watch. Nothing was going on at the moment so she kept herself busy by reading a book. Her senses were still alert to the world around her but there was no reason to have nothing to do until her guard shift ended._

_Now under normal circumstances she would have woken up either Shiori or Hikaru an hour ago, however something seemed… off, about tonight. _

_There were no sounds, no birds, no crickets, not even the lone howl of wolf. And even the wind had died down. As if the whole mountain had gone silent. _

_It was never this quite anywhere, except maybe graveyards. And even most graveyards weren't this quite._

_'Something is wrong, I can feel it. But as long as I don't react, maybe nothing with happen.' Kasumi had barely turned the page of her book when suddenly shurikens shot out of the darkness and headed straight towards her. _

_More than alert, the ninja woman dodged the weapons and drew a kunai from her pouch. She tried to detect where the shurikens had come from while she called to her students "SHIORI! HIKARU! WAKE UP, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" She yelled. _

_Both of the genin were immediately out of the tent, their swords in hands. _

_"Who is it Sensei?" Hikaru asked as he drew his sword. "Ninja?" _

_"I am not sure." Kasumi said. "SHOW YOURSELVES COWARDS!" She yelled into the darkness. _

_There was a bit of dry laughter as out of the shadows, stepping into the moonlight, was a woman with hair that was as white a snow, wearing a violet sleeveless robe and a black belt that looked like it was made of snake skin. She carried a large scythe, and standing at either side of her was a skeleton, a walking skeleton, each carrying a larger than normal kunai and shuriken and wearing no form of clothing or armor. _

_The white-haired woman gave a small bow. "Do forgive me for such a rough entry. I am Beniko, formally of Suna." _

_"What business do you have with us?" Shiori said as she drew her own sword and stood next to her sensei._

_The rogue Suna ninja smiled wickedly. "I am afraid that you interrupted a business transaction with my Yakuza employers. You retook the Daimyo's daughter from their possession and my superiors are very angry with that fact, and thus they have ordered your deaths. Nothing personal, just business." _

_Rather than give some sort of confident reply back, Kasumi decided to make two hand signs and attack the newcomer. "Fire style Dragonbreath Jutsu." She then exhaled a stream of fire straight at her target._

_Beniko waved her arm and both skeletons jumped in front of her to take the hit, keeping her protected. "A Kiri nin who knows how to use fire, didn't see that one coming." She said, sounding rather impressed. "But too bad for you that bone is quite hard to burn."_

_"But it can be cut." Kasumi said as she pulled out her own sword. In the moonlight the blade looked scarlet. At the same time Shiori's blade looked black and Hikaru's blade looked silver. Nothing too unique about them could be seen, just a set of ordinary katana. At least, at first glance._

_Beniko grabbed her scythe with her right hand and brought it out, holding it effortlessly despite the weight and balance. "So can you and your students have weapons? Let's see who's got the better one here." Her left hand was at her hip but it wasn't clenched into a fist; rather it was relaxed with the palm facing forward._

_"Take care of the skeletons, I'll handle her directly." Kasumi told her students before they charged into battle._

_While her two genin held off the skeletons, Kasumi found her opponent blocking her sword with her sickle. Pushing forward with all her might, the Kiri jounin tried to notice any weak spot in the rogue Suna kunoichi. All she could see was that her left hand wasn't on the scythe's handle and the fingers were occasionally flexing. "So that's your trick. You're one of those puppet users that Suna specializes in. But instead of using wooden dolls with weapons built right in, you use human remains."_

_Beniko smiled. "A puppet doesn't have to be made out of wood. By definition a puppet is anything that mindlessly obeys the orders it receives from the one pulling the strings. Some people are puppets in life, so why not make them puppets in death?"_

_"You're sick!" Kasumi stated, meanwhile she was trying to think of a plan. 'If I had both hands free I could hit her with a Jutsu right now. My one comfort is she can't use any right now either.'_

_"That's what they said in Suna too. Too bad, I like my unique Jutsu, and intend to show the world it's power. Plus when I'm done with you and your team, that's three more sets of bones for me to use."_

_"Over my dead body!"_

_Beniko laughed. "That's exactly what I just said you stupid bitch." She then stepped back and moved her scythe in an effort to slash Kasumi's front wide open. Kasumi blocked it with her sword and pushed it aside just long enough to jab the end of it deeply into Beniko's left forearm._

_The insane woman yelled in pain "AGHH! THAT HURT YOU SLUT!"_

_Kasumi smiled. "It's going to hurt worse." She said as she pulled her sword out and gained some distance._

_"What do you mean by-" Beniko asked, but stopped when she felt a burning tingle inside the wound. When she looked, her arm exploded, sending blood and pieces of flesh flying. She screamed bloody murder and dropped to her knees, clutching the bloody stump that had been her left arm._

_Kasumi stood over her. "Like that? That's the secret of my sword, Bakupiri. Whatever it cuts, explodes. And the worse the cut, the bigger the blast. Imagine what will happen when I cut your head off."_

_"You talk too much." Beniko said as she grabbed her scythe and quickly got back up. "And all this blood puts me at risk." She jumped over Kasumi and landed by her two students, who weren't fighting anymore since the puppet jutsu on the skeletons had ended. Beniko waved her stump and got Shiori and Hikaru covered in her blood. "There. Say hello to the boogeyman." _

_Hikaru swung his sword at her but before his blade made contact she disappeared and was replaced with a log, which his sword got lodged in. "Crap, a Substitution."_

_The two of them began to try and wipe some of the blood off their bodies._

_"What do you think she was talking about?" Hikaru asked Shiori while she was using the back of her hand to the wipe the blood her face. _

_"Who cares, she was probably losing it from the pain and loss of blood." Shiori grumbled. _

_Kasumi came up to her students. "I'll go look around for her. I'll check the north and west from here. Shiori-san, you check the east and south. Hikaru-kun, stay here in case she comes back. Whoever finds here set up a flare so the rest of us can come to your aide."_

_Shiori looked hesitant. "Is splitting up the best idea Sensei?"_

_"No time to think of anything else. She's getting away." Kasumi said before heading northwest._

_"Go. We can handle this. Good luck Shiori-chan." Hikaru told his teammate._

_"You too Hikaru-kun." The redhead genin said before heading southeast._

* * *

_When Kasumi and Shiori returned to their campsite, they found the place completely destroyed. The fire was out, the tents were in tatters and Hikaru was no where to be seen. _

_"Hikaru-kun?" Shiori called as she searched around for her teammate. _

_Kasumi narrowed her eyes, something was defiantly wrong. She bent down to the ground. Although it was difficult to see with only moonlight, she could make out Hikaru's footprints in the ground, but he had not been alone, there was a separate, much larger set among his. _

_"Someone had been here, that woman had not been alone." Kasumi cursed at herself for not realizing it. That rogue ninja had purposefully led them away from their camp._

_Her thought process was broken by a loud scream, one that belonged to Shiori. Kasumi jumped to her feet and ran to the spot where the scream had originated, which was just several dozen feet away from the camp. _

_Shiori was sitting on the ground, sobbing as she hugged something to her, and when Kasumi got close enough to see what it was, she halted in her tracks and felt as if she was about to vomit. _

_It was Hikaru, dead. Blood flowed from a wound in his neck, where it looked as if some sort of animal had ripped the flesh open, with its teeth. _

_Shiori looked up at Kasumi, her eyes wide as tears flowed down her face. "What did this? What did this?" She asked as she continued to cry, as she shook Hikaru, as if by doing that it would revive him. _

_It was then that Kasumi heard something, a slight rustling. She spun around to see standing on the rocks, hidden in the shadows, the silhouette of a man. Which she immediately realized was the one who killed her student. _

_"YOU BASTARD!" She said as she threw several kunai's at the man. However the moment they were about to strike him, he vanished, but all around them there was laughter, a type of dry cruel laughter that faded after several moments. _

_Kasumi stared wildly around, trying to figure out which direction this demon went in so she could give chase, but it was then that was what had caused this in the first place. They had separated, divided their forces and became weak. _

_"S… sensei..." Shiori said in a weak voice. "Look." _

_Kasumi bent down and examined Hikaru's body, and found what Shiori wanted her to see, or more accurately not see. _

_The thing that had killed Hikaru, ninja, man, beast, demon, whatever you chose to call it, had also stolen Hikaru's sword. _

_Kasumi lowered her head and gripped her hands into fist as Shiori continued to cry and hug the body of her fallen friend. _

(End of Flashback)

"We took his body back to Kiri, and buried him with honor." Kasumi said as she finished her story.

Naruto stared at his sensei and he could see the utter pain that filled her eyes.

"Things only seemed to get worse from that point on. Shiori-san withdrew into a shell; she lashed out at anyone who tried to talk to her, even me. And I felt so horrible. I was responsible for that boy. I was his teacher and I could not protect him. I was almost ready to disband the team."

"Why didn't you?" Naruto asked.

"Because I would not let her."

They both turned to see Shiori standing there, looking rather pale and sick, but strong enough. "I would not let Squad Eight be dissolved, because Hikaru-kun loved this team, and it would not die along with him." She said as she walked over and stood next to the Kasumi.

The older woman smiled and placed a hand on Shiori's shoulder "And it didn't. Squad Eight is back and ready to fight."

Naruto stared out at the sea, and in the far distance he could make out a small stretch of land. "So if this guy who killed Hikaru is there… what are we gonna do?"

Shiori answered that so quickly it was like she had been prepared for someone to say it. "I am going to kill him and take back Hikaru-kun's sword."

* * *

In his office in his mansion, Futami Daikai, The Governor and Master of the Port, quivered in his seat. He was surrounded by twelve hired mercenaries that he used as bodyguards. However even they knew they were just for show.

All of them knew that it was Takeru and Beniko who were the muscle that kept the citizens in line.

The moment those two showed up, Daikai regretted the deal he made with the Yakuza. He should have just called Seto and gotten the thugs he needed from that crook. But now that they were here… he would not dare ask them to leave, out of fear for what they might do to him if he did.

The doors to his office suddenly burst open, and in stepped Beniko first, followed by Takeru dressed in black with his sword strapped to his back. The demon-like man gazed at the men who surrounded Daikai. All twelve of them tried to act big and tough, despite the fact all of them were sweating with fear.

Takeru suddenly hissed at them, and they all jumped back. He laughed as he licked his fangs. "Pathetic, nothing but a bunch of frightened sheep."

"Now now Takeru, be nice." His white-haired partner said as she swung her scythe and let the blade sink into the floor. Leaving it there, she walked over to Daikai's desk, a smile on her face. "You called for us Governor? Do forgive the lateness, but my companion does not like moving around in broad daylight." She said.

Her outfit was different than before. Now she wore a red jacket over a violet tanktop and black shorts. Oddly, her jacket possessed no sleeve on her right arm, but for her left arm there was a longer than normal sleeve that draped to just under her hip.

Daikai gulped before he spoke, and tried to sound tough as he did. "You… you killed five people last night, now I said you could kill a few people, just to keep them in line… but five in one night? They are going to be too afraid to leave their homes. And if they don't leave home, they don't work, and if they don't work we don't get any money."

"That is your issue, not ours. However if you want, we could give them a bit of persuasion to leave their homes." Beniko said with a smile.

"NO! I mean, no; that is not necessary. I have already sent my men out to do that."

"You know, Beniko." Takeru said as he moved across the floor, almost gliding. "It sounds as if our employer does not like the job we have been doing." He said as he dug one of his long dirty fingernails into the oak desk and dragged it across, making a loud screeching noise, which caused everyone by Beniko and himself to shudder from the noise.

"What I'm saying is that your methods are proving to be too effective." Daikai clarified quickly. "Think of it this way. If the populous is too terrified to set foot outside their homes, they can't do their jobs. And if they can't do their jobs, the economy of this town will collapse. And if that happens, then I cannot pay you anymore."

"Well there is that." Beniko said. "In that case, I suppose that we can take a night or two off, get them a bit more relaxed again before resuming our presence again."

"What?" Takeru said in complete shock. "No. Absolutely not Beniko. I need to feed."

"And I need to be paid. You will do as I say Takeru, or would you rather challenge me?" She asked, popping the knuckles on her right hand. The dark-haired pale man glowered at the white-haired woman for a moment longer, but closed his eyes and then he slumped his shoulders in submission.

"Good. Know your place blood junkie, maybe if you're good I will let you go out and slaughter some local animals. We are here to discourage the citizens from turning against this man, not to kill them off."

Daikai struggled to resist a tired sigh._ 'The longer you stay here the harder it will be to avoid such an outcome.'_ "You two are doing your job quite well. Ever since I took power here no one has tried to take it from me. But there is no need to go overboard here. Just remind the people that I am the one in charge here and I will not allow anyone to challenge that."

Takeru suddenly smiled his twisted smile. "But what if we challenge that?" He said as his blood shot eyes gazed directly at Daikai, his pulled back his lips and revealed all of his sharp teeth.

The other guards immediately took on ready stances but did not advance any further, for Beniko held up her right-hand to settle them down, and then hit Takeru. "Never mind him. Rest assured Futami-san if we wanted to we'd be a bigger threat to you than anyone else you fear could usurp you. But fortunately for you we have no interest in controlling this abysmal port. So as long as you give me the money and spare parts, and give Takeru the convicts to indulge upon, you're safe from us. Just always keep in mind we don't believe loyalty should be unconditional."

With that, she turned and walked away, with her partner tagging along behind her. But she didn't leave until after she took her scythe with her, grabbing it with her gloved left hand that peeked out of the long sleeve concealing it.

Takeru stopped and took one last look at the people and gave a small snicker as he walked after his partner.

Daikai motioned for his men to close the doors, which they did quickly, and then locked them for good measure.

One of the bodyguards, who gripped a large double sided axe turned to the governor, his voice was shaky as he spoke. "Boss, you gotta get those two out of here. That woman is a witch, and that guy, he looks the devil himself."

"I know that, but you heard what they said. That was not just a reminder of what I am supposed to give them, it was a threat of what would happen if I didn't. If we do anything to make them angry, they will kill us all."

* * *

Two days later, the boat docked at a port. It was small local fishing port that had only one docking area, and it was the only port that was just a few miles or so from their actual destination.

Naruto was the first one to set foot on land. "Finally! I was going nuts in that cramped place."

"Hey kid!" One of the passengers said. He was a middle age man with a mustache, wearing a coat, and from one of the pockets he withdrew a fifty ryo note which he handed to Naruto. "You're pretty good at throwing the dice. Never saw anyone get seven that many times."

Naruto took the note and put it in the pocket of his shorts. "Thanks, and I don't think I have ever even played the game until today."

"Well you should come down to the city sometime. You could make a fortune in one night with your kind of luck." The mustached man said.

"Really?" The blonde said, sounding kind of excited.

"Settle down Naruto-kun, you're a ninja not a professional gambler. Besides you're too young." Kasumi said as she and several other people got off the boat too. Unlike the others, she jumped over the railing and landed comfortably next to her student.

Shiori followed and looked over the area. "Looks just like it did the last time we were here."

"It's only been three months Shiori-san. Not a whole lot can change in that time. At least nothing good that is." Kasumi told her. "And let me remind you that we have a mission to uphold. We are here to investigate and eliminate the violent criminal behavior, not avenge Hikaru-kun. We can if we have the chance, but that is not our first objective."

"Yes Sensei." Shiori said, but her eyes disagreed.

Kasumi sternly looked at her student. "Say it Shiori-san. What are we here to do?"

Shiori grumbled then spoke up. "Return control of the port to the Lightening Daimyo and find one that has been gouging people's throats."

"Good. Do not make this personal."

_'Too late Sensei.'_


	17. Chapter 17

It took two days to get to Pōto no Tenshi. It would have taken much less time if they had taken the main roads; however that would have taken them too close to the enemy for now. Squad Eight needed to observe the situation before any moves were made.

Pōto no Tenshi was the largest and most prosperous port in all of the Land of Lightening. It had twelve docking areas that were big enough to take in massive cargo ships. Warehouses lined the docking area where a large number of the Ports citizens worked on loading and unloading ships with the cargo. Moving further into the port one would find the makings of a prosperous modern city, various shops and restaurants lined the street. There were even several movie theaters. At the very center of the city was a clock tower, which rung every hour on the hour.

Not too long ago, the streets would have been packed with tourists and citizens. But now they were empty, save for the thugs they had patrolling the city and various business people, who looked rather unsavory. It was for this reason that Squad Eight had to make port at a smaller less noticeable port on the coastline. They needed to remain unnoticed to do their job here.

Kasumi handed her spy glass to Shiori. "What do you think Shiori-san."

"No sign of anyone we recognize, and no sign of Kumo ninja either. But they don't carry themselves like common bandits out for money. Could they be pirates?"

Pirates were basically missing nin that did their work at sea rather than on land and in roads between cities. As a result, the Land of Water and their neighboring seaside countries were the most vulnerable to pirates, especially after the reign of Yagura made many of Kiri's ninja leave. Some of them took to piracy rather than nomadic thievery.

"Doubtful. If they were, there would be more boats in the harbor and I only see one. And it looks like a merchant ship rather than a pirate ship." Kasumi answered.

"Could it be disguised?" Naruto asked, thinking that if these were pirates, then they could just be waiting for a larger ship to come to port and then raid it.

"There's always the possibility. But for now, let's keep observing the city." Kasumi explained. "This time though, there will be no splitting up. That was our big mistake last time and I'll be damned if I do that again."

The two genin nodded. "How do we do that?" Naruto asked.

"We can't go into the city even under a henge because that would make the guys patrolling the streets suspicious. But we need to get close to actually hear something." Kasumi said, and then smiled. "Fortunately, there is a river going thru town to the sea so that may give us a good cover. Follow me."

Kasumi led her students around the city and to a point by the river outside the city's limits. "It's a long shot, but this might just work." The jounin said before biting her thumb, performing four hand sings, and placing her right palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu." A large puff of smoke appeared and when it cleared, a small dark green alligator the size of an iguana could be seen.

"How can I help you?" The alligator asked.

Naruto was surprised by this jutsu, and yet he felt a strange sense of familiarity as well.

"We need to know what's going on in the city. I'd like you to swim down the river and see if you can either overhear someone talking about whose in charge of this place and what they're doing, or see if there's some weak point in their perimeter we can take advantage of to get inside and see for ourselves." Kasumi explained.

"I can do that. I'll return as quickly as I can." The alligator said before getting into the river and swimming into town.

"And now we wait." Kasumi said before leading her students out of the open territory and back into the tree line.

Unfortunately, none of them noticed a large rat on the other side of the river, who had watched all that had transpired. It was a large rat with beady red eyes and thick wormlike tail, and when it saw the three of them vanish into the trees, it scurried off towards the city as well.

* * *

Takeru's room could accurately be described as a place of nightmares. It was thick with cobwebs, each one including a fat black spider that scurried around trapping the many flies that buzzed around in the air.

The windows of the room had been boarded up so that the sun could not enter the room. There was no bed in the room, nothing that signified a human being actually lived in the room. The floor was dirty with filth and piles of dead rats lay in piles as the flies feasted on the rotting flesh. Even torture chambers felt cozier than this place.

The only source of light in the room came from two candles that sat on both sides of small shrine in which Takeru was currently kneeling in front of.

Takeru had removed his shirt, revealing the number of jagged scars and cuts that ran across his muscled and pale skinned body. There were also many poorly self-stitched wounds. Now while most of the wounds had come from enemies, a large portion of them had actually been inflicted by Takeru himself. Like the wound in his chest, it was of a upside down triangle enclosed in a circle. It was the mark of the Jashinists, an evil death cult in which Takeru was a devoted member and practitioner.

The dark-haired man lowered his head to the shrine. "Great Jashin, one true god of the universe, taker of life and lord of darkness, your servant begs forgiveness." The man said as he kept his voice low. "I could not present you with a human sacrifice as I have always done daily to you. And the pitiful carcasses of animals are unworthy of your greatness." He said to the shrine. He sounded truly apologetic as if he was speaking to a person right in front of him.

It was then that Takeru withdrew a short serrated kunai, one that gleamed in the light of the candles. The demonic looking man held the blade in front of him in his palms as he presented it to the idol of Jashin. "Please, accept the blood and pain of your servant in return." With that he drove the blade deep into his leg, Takeru did not wince but his red eyes closed as he drove it in deeper and twisted it around in the flesh.

After several moments of this he took the kunai out from his body and then held the blade over the statue and allowed the droplets of his blood to fall on the altar of his god. And once that had been done, Takeru lowered his head, feeling Jashin had been appeased.

It was then that the door to his sanctum was flung open and standing there was Beniko, looking rather upset. "Takeru, stop fucking around, we have an issue." She shouted to her partner as she slammed the door.

Takeru sat there silently for bit longer and then blew out the candles causing the room to be bathed in darkness, however he could see perfectly. He grabbed his long black coat which he zipped up to conceal his body, so none but Jashin could see his marks. He then grabbed his sword and hung it across his back. He flexed his long fingers and cracked his neck to the side and he then exited his room.

Beniko was standing by the window, looking outside. The weather had become dark and grey, and in the distance thunder could be heard. A storm was coming. The white-haired woman was biting the thumbnail on her left hand when Takeru walked up behind her.

"What troubles you, Necromancer?" He asked although he did not care in the slightest.

"We have trespassers." She answered.

"How do you know?" He asked.

The rat from before climbed onto Beniko's shoulders, "The dead make good puppets, but the living make better scouts." The dark puppeteer answered, tickling under the rats chin with her gloved hand.

"Are they more of the Daimyo's soldiers?" Takeru asked, thinking about the thrill he had felt last time when tearing all of those foolish men apart, and the offerings of their severed limbs which he presented to Jashin.

"No, apparently there are only three of them. My guess is that they are ninja's." Beniko answered. "I have already informed the Governor to get his men off the streets."

It was then that Takeru smiled, and at the same time lightning ominously flashed in the skies. "Let's go greet them then, shall we?"

* * *

The alligator Kasumi summoned had returned from down river to where her team had last been. Expecting this, Kasumi came out from hiding and her two students followed. Right now all of them were wearing storm gear such as ponchos and straw hats since the sky showed a storm was inevitable.

"What did you find?" She asked as the reptile crawled onto the bank.

"The first thing I discovered was that there were plenty of rats in the area. So I managed to get me a quick bite while I was looking around." The alligator said as it grinned up at Kasumi.

Shiori groaned. "It's a port city. They always have wharf rats in these kinds of places."

"I don't think they were ordinary wharf rats, they were much bigger and a bit smarter. I think they were a summoned kind." The alligator corrected.

Shiori made a disgusted face. "Why would anybody have a rat summons?"

"Every summons has its own use Shiori-san. Don't discount the effectiveness of a method just because it's not the most comfortable one to think about." Kasumi said before turning her attention back to the aquatic reptile. "Go on."

"I heard some of the patrolling thugs talking amongst themselves. From their tones I guessed they were not happy about their situation but were afraid to be caught saying what they did. There was no one near the river but me and they all had their backs to me so they talked unhindered but still cautious, always looking in shadowy places, like someone was going to pop out at them"

"Get to the point lizard." Shiori said, growing a bit impatient.

Both the alligator and Kasumi glared at her for a moment before the creature continued to talk. "Anyway, if I understand correctly, the person in charge of this settlement usurped the position not too long ago and is afraid someone else may try to usurp him as well. So he's hired a few men from a group called the Yakuza and a pair of ninja from them too. These ninja were simply referred to as the Witch and the Vampire, and everyone was afraid of them the most."

"The Yakuza?" Kasumi asked, sounding frightened. "Oh, this is not good."

"What's wrong? Who are they?" Naruto asked.

"I'll explain later." Kasumi said. "Just keep in mind they do not send second rates on their jobs. If the ninja here are here because of the Yakuza, and even the hired help fears them, then we're in over our heads. Our best bet is to head back to Kiri and inform the Mizukage the situation needs someone better than us."

"But we're already here." Naruto countered.

Kasumi sternly looked him right in the eyes, with only a small gap actually between their eyes right then. "Naruto-kun, do you want to die?"

"N-no." the blonde boy said, trying not to be afraid of his sensei right now, but could not surpass a shudder.

"Good. Because I don't intend to see any of us die here. This is too strong an enemy for me, and much too strong an enemy for either of you. Had these been normal thugs trying to steal money, or even pirates having a good time, then there would not be an issue. But this is a professional crime organization that does not like to be interfered with we're dealing with here. This is out of our league. Now, we're going to do our duty and return home so someone better equipped for the job can replace us."

"But if we wait that long more and more people will suffer. We gotta try." Naruto said.

"Naruto, as noble as that is, Kasumi-sensei is the one in charge. She's not asking us to give a vote, she's giving an order. And that means we obey." Shiori calmly told him, her impatient thoughts replaced with worry, because she too knew how dangerous members of the Yakuza could be.

"But it doesn't feel right." Naruto claimed. "This... feels really familiar to me. Like I knew some other place that was being harassed by someone people feared. And I wouldn't let anyone cower in fear, so why should I let these people do that?"

"Because it's like Shiori-san said." Kasumi sternly answered. "I'm not asking for you to decide what we do. As jounin and leader of this squad Naruto-kun, I'm the authority, and I make the big decisions. And I say we head home. Now!"

Not wanting to ruin his connection to the only people he had in his life now, Naruto relented. "Ok, sorry I challenged you Kasumi-sensei." He said, sincerely, bowing his head.

"No problem. Now let's hightail it out of here." She said, and then looked at her summons. "Thank you for your assistance." The alligator nodded then returned home in a puff of smoke. The three ninja began to run back towards the port they came to the Land of Lightning in, going around the village as they did.

* * *

Everything seemed fine at first, aside from the lighting that flashed in the sky and the few droplets of rain they felt start to come down, nothing seemed to be wrong, but a few miles away from the city limits, they ran into trouble.

The trouble being in the form of a white javelin coming at them from behind that missed them but impeded itself in the wall of an abandoned building outside town, probably once used as a lookout station or watch tower.

_'Weird. That almost looks like ivory.' _Kasumi said when she looked at it. Curious, she touched it._ 'It IS ivory. Why would someone use ivory for a weapon?'_

"Well, well, well, what are the odds of this happening?" A woman's voice called out to them all, making Kasumi, Shiori, and Naruto gather together defensively. From out of the shadows stepped a very unwelcome sight.

"YOU?" Kasumi screamed, out of both shock and anger.

Beniko put the end of her scythe's handle down on the ground but didn't let go of it. "I've got a bone to pick with you, you know?" She said, and began to lightly laugh at her use of the word 'bone'. "You know how hard it is to control puppets with only one hand?"

"You're the ninja the guy in charge of this village is using?" Kasumi asked, the rain started to fall, and in the distance thunder boomed.

Beniko smiled. "One of them anyway. My partner is waiting for his moment. You see, he prefers to wait until you're too busy fighting me or chasing me to notice when he's about to strike. Some sort of rush he gets from catching his prey off guard and really scaring the crap out of them."

Now Shiori was the one who was frowning. _'He must be the one who killed Hikaru-kun. He is so effing dead!'_

Kasumi slipped into her taijutsu stance, feet stable on the ground and both palms in front of her facing out with the elbows pointed out. "You sure are confident to go ahead and tell us all this. But I suppose someone with connections to the Yakuza should be confident."

"They damn sure didn't hire me for my looks." Beniko replied. "Not that I'm not drop dead sexy but you get the idea." She then laughed at her use of the words 'drop dead'. She was quite funny now for some reason.

While she laughed, Kasumi took the chance to run up to the rogue Suna kunoichi and try to get a quick hit in. Unfortunately for her the white-haired woman was still on guard and used the staff of her scythe to block any hits. But rather than try to hit her, Kasumi just grabbed the scythe and held it, pushing against Beniko. "Shiori-san, Naruto-kun, attack her while I've got her hands full!"

Naruto and Shiori charged towards the enemy, Naruto with a kunai in both hands and Shiori ready to unsheathe her own sword. But before they could reach her, a pair of armored skeletons jumped in front of them and tried to hit them with kanabos. The two genin had no choice but to halt and get back to avoid the studded clubs.

Kasumi was aghast. "But how can you-?" The answer hit her as soon as she asked the question. "You've got your arm back, don't you?"

Beniko grinned and held up her left hand, covered with a stain black glove that also covered her forearm into her long sleeve. The flexing of the fingers proved her left hand was controlling the dead bodies like puppets. "It was tough to put back on, but yeah, I got it back. I never did repay you for blowing it off before. But I will now." She said as she swept her leg under Kasumi, causing her to lose her balance for a moment, and Beniko used that moment to wrestle her scythe from out of the Kiri ninja's hands.

The former shinobi of Suna swung her scythe, intending on slicing Kasumi in half but was stopped by Kasumi's sword which she had quickly drawn from its sheath and used it to block the scythe, but just barely.

_'Dammit, I gotta keep her away from Shiori-san and Naruto-kun, and I gotta find a gap in battle we can use to get out of here.'_ Kasumi thought, as she broke off from Beniko and then with both hands gripping the hilt of the blade, charged again.

The two components clashed with each other, and Beniko, still making sure that she was within sight of her puppet skeletons began to move backwards, drawing Kasumi away from her students.

* * *

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out as he formed over a dozen clones to take down the skeleton in front of him. The dead automaton swung its kanabo and got rid of several of them, but the rest dove in and tore it apart at the joints. Doing so was actually harder than he expected, but it proved that the skeletons had a weakness. Once the body parts had been separated, it became useless.

"Hey Shiori!" Naruto called out to share this discovery. When he saw her, she looked to be holding her own just fine. Her skeleton was a pile of pieces on the ground too and she was putting her sword back in its sheath.

"What?" She asked, sounding semi-irritated.

"Uh... never mind?" His information no longer felt relevant.

Suddenly a figure in a black cloak descended from the trees and landed behind them, as if trying to sneak attack. But this figure was in Naruto's peripheral vision so he turned to look right at him. Shiori wasn't as quick so the cloaked figure tried to attack her first, taking out a serrated kunai, he intended to drive it right into her ribs.

Naruto, moving quickly, ran up and got between Shiori and the cloaked figure to defend her and used his own kunai to block the attackers and the one in his other hand to rip the guys cloak off.

Takeru was exposed, and only the fact that there was a thunderstorm going on around them made him not cringe at being out in the daytime. He snarled, showing off his sharp teeth and angry red eyes, and punched Naruto right in the chest, sending him flying towards the abandoned building. The impact must have hurt like hell and possessed a lot of force because the wall Naruto collided with collapsed and crumbled around him, burying him under a pile of rubble. The blonde did not even have time to yell.

_'Naruto?'_ Shiori thought, frightened for him. Seeing Takeru grin, she grew angry, and when she saw a familiar ninjato on his hip, she got pissed. "You killed Hikaru-kun!" She screamed in fury as she charged in, ready to pierce this guys heart if he had one.

Reacting quicker than she anticipated, the pale man jumped over her and swept-kicked her legs from behind, making her stumble forward. She caught herself and tried to get back up, but before she could, he grabbed a hold of her neck and held tightly. Then he turned her around so he could see her face and lifted her up off the ground, making it even harder for her to breathe.

Takeru held Shiori up by the throat like it was nothing, with a cruel smirk on his face as he watched her struggle in his grasp. Then he brought her close to his face, and he opened his mouth. Shiori felt like she was going to vomit when she smell his rancid breath.

"Hikaru… ahhh was that the name of the brat whose throat I ripped out back in the mountains?" He asked, although he already knew the answer. He never forgot the face of someone he killed.

Shiori's eyes filled with nothing but rage, and she spat in Takeru's face. The man stood there for a moment and then he slashed his sharpened nails across the girls cheek, drawing blood.

The Jashinist then ran his tongue over the girl's cheek, tasting her blood. "Mmm... it has been a good while since I tasted virgin blood. I will savor every drop. And it will be nice to add a second sword to my belt." He said with a throaty laugh. "You know, ever since I got this sword, I have never lost a battle. I can't say the same for its former owner."

"You… go to hell!" Shiori said as she bit down into his hand, trying to see if that would cause him to release her, but instead Takeru hissed loudly and dugs his nails deeper into her throat, choking off her air and causing her to stop.

"Where do you think I come from?" He asked as he squeezed even tighter. "Look into my eyes, I wanna see you die."

Shiori let out some choking gasps, as her eye started to roll back into her skull, and in her terrified mind she screamed one thought. _"HELP!"_

And it was answered.

* * *

Buried underneath the pile of rubble Naruto tried to get up but did not have the strength to lift the heavy rocks. And while he could not see and was choking on dust, he could hear just fine.

He heard Shiori talking to that pale-skinned guy, and he could also hear that man taunting and threatening to kill Shiori.

No, he would not let that happen, he had to save Shiori, he would not let her die. He would not let his teammate die.

It was then that Naruto felt himself encompassed by darkness, and found himself standing in front of the giant cage that held the Kyuubi.

The female fox, stared at Naruto with her giant slit eye**. "Do you truly wish to protect your teammate boy?"** Her voice booming around him.

Naruto stood strong and nodded. "Yes, I want to protect her, I need to protect her." He told the Kyuubi.

The nine-tailed bijuu stared at Naruto for a moment and then from behind the bars of her cage, she smiled.

**"Very well then, I shall give you another taste of my power, I shall give you enough to protect the girl and defeat your enemy."**

Suddenly a fog of red mist began to seep out from the cage. It flowed across the floor and when it reached Naruto it started to swirl around him, spreading over his entire body. The Kiri genin felt a slight tingle begin to move through his body, starting in his legs and when it moved up to his head, he blacked out.

* * *

Just as the rain began to pour, there was a sudden wave of killer intent, one so strong that it filled the air. It was coming from the pile of rubble that Naruto had been buried. The missing ninja known in town as the Vampire turned his head, his attention for Shiori interrupted.

The rubble began to shake, and a fiery red glow began to come from it. Then Naruto stood from the rubble, rocks and dust falling off of him. He looked like he was surrounded by a visible red chakra cloak that began to heal all of his wounds.

But that was not the only thing. His canines had suddenly become sharper and more animal like. His hands had turned to claws that looked strong enough to crush stone, and his eyes were not crystal blue, but a crimson red color with black slits in them. And finally a single tail made from the chakra moved back and forth behind him. His eyes had become slits and they stared directly at Takeru who still gripped Shiori tightly in his hand. Naruto lifted up his hand and pointed his now claw-like finger at the Jashinist, and when he spoke it came out a dark low growl, "Put. Her. Down!"

Takeru, who did not let his eyes waver from Naruto, dropped the girl who fell down to the floor with a thud. Shiori started coughing and sucking in lots of air, and although her vision was slightly blurred, she could see her teammate clearly "N… Naruto?" She said weakly.

The Vampire and Kiri Ninja stared at each other, their eyes locked. Takeru cracked his fingers and Naruto's chakra tailed moved back and forth.

Suddenly the two opponents charged at each other.


	18. Chapter 18

Lightning flashed in the sky as Naruto and Takeru charged at each other, their eyes both a crimson red.

Takeru withdrew three kunai and hurled them at the Kiri boy. The moment the blades looked ready to strike him, Naruto vanished in a red flash, only to appear behind the man and the blonde drove his fist into his back.

The vampire was propelled forward by the attack, so Naruto vanished again and appeared in front of the Takeru. This time he grabbed the dark-haired man by the face, digging his claws into Takeru's cheeks before giving a loud growl and threw him into the crumbling building.

The Jashinist went thru two of the walls before vanishing into the darkness under the rubble. The damage done to the walls was severe enough that the rest of the structur began to collapse around him too, but not completely on the downed rogue ninja.

Naruto stood there, breathing heavily, feeling the Kyuubi's power coursing through every vein of his body. It felt good, really good, like he could do anything. Like nothing in the world could stop him now.

"Na… Naruto?"

It was Shiori's voice that brought him back into reality. Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw the redhead standing up from the ground. Her body was muddy and wet with all the rain that coming down now. Naruto had not even noticed the rain, every time a droplet hit his body, it quickly evaporated.

He could see that she was clearly afraid of him, but he did not blame her. He must have looked like some kind of monster at the moment. But it was going to take a monster to beat Takeru.

Shiori took a step towards her teammate. "Naruto, what has happened to you?" She looked so timid and uncertain right then it almost felt familiar to him.

"STAY BACK!" Naruto barked at her, and she stopped moving. Naruto's slit eyes stared at Shiori. "I don't know what I am capable of doing in this form, and I don't want you to get hurt so stay back."

Shiori was about to say more, but she did not get a chance to, for the sounds of laughter coming from inside the building got their attention.

"Your strength, your speed, your power!" Takeru said as he dragged himself out of the large hole in the side of the building. Blood was dripping from the side of his face, but it got washed off in the rain. He had a crazed look on his face, a mixture of rage and glee with a hint of madness thrown in as well. "Finally I have met with an adversary worthy to be sacrificed to Jashin. It is your blood that will sate my hunger and that of my god."

Naruto snarled at the crazed cultist. "You want it? Come and get it!"

Takeru smiled even wider, as he brought his hands together. "You should consider yourself lucky, I have only ever had to use this form once in battle and that was against a fellow worshipper who was even more stubborn about dying than I am." He suddenly performed a number of hand signs. "Cursed Demon Transformation Jutsu."

Both Naruto and Shiori stood and watched what happened next.

Takeru feel to his knees, growling like some kind of rabid animal. He ripped off his cloak and threw Hikaru's sword into the mud.

The mans hair began to grow longer, and thicker. Next his body, which had been a ghostly white color, turned a sickish grey. The red eyes suddenly began to glow as they sunk back a bit into the sockets His face began to twist and contort becoming more skull-like as the jaw began to widen and enlarge as his teeth began to grow sharper and longer. His ears became pointed and his nose rounded and became slightly piggish

Next Takeru's shoulders became broader and stronger looking. The muscles of his body began to grow and expand making him stronger. His nails became sharper, not just on his hands but feet as well. And finally two large bat-like and jagged wings sprouted from his back, quivering slightly as he stood up.

Takeru in his normal form looked very fearsome and intimidating enough, but he now looked like a true vampiric creature. Like the sort of thing a person would expect Dracula himself to turn into. And when he spoke it was cold and inhuman. "I am a servant of Jashin, here to do his will."

Naruto crouched into an attack position and snarled "And I am a Ninja of Kiri, here to do my job." He then propelled himself forward, and became a red blur.

* * *

Kasumi fought on, too occupied to be fully aware of what her students were doing right then. Her opponent was a tough one, effectively suited for the standards of the Yakuza.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Beniko said as she slammed her hands onto the ground. There was a large puff of smoke and what appeared next was a giant six-foot black rat. "Devour her and leave me the bones." Beniko commanded and the rat rushed forward to obey.

Kasumi backed away but did not run away. The large rat jumped at her ready to peel her flesh off but she thrust her sword down it's throat thru it's open mouth. Within seconds the rat burst into many bloody pieces. "So that's how you get your materials? Your rats eat the meat and you keep the bones for yourself?"

"Yeah, but they have other uses too." Beniko said as she reclaimed her scythe. "But you should really worry more about your two kids. My partner is not someone you want kids fighting."

"They can handle him until I finish with you." Kasumi said as she tried to hit Beniko. The scythe blocked it. _'Dammit! If I could just make a cut on the handle at least I could make it explode and then she'd have nothing. But I can't damage it.'_

"Wasn't it thinking like that that got the other boy killed last time?" Beniko asked offhandedly.

Kasumi's eyes practically glowed red with rage. "You're going to wish you never said that to me!" Moving quickly, Kasumi took her left hand off her sword handle and quickly hit Beniko's neck with an open palm attack.

"Ahh! That stings!" The puppeteer shouted, feeling a hot surge of pain on the right side of her neck.

"It's going to get much worse for you bitch." Kasumi said before jumping back and sheathing her sword.

Beniko was immediately confused. _'What the hell? She's going to fight me without her weapon now? This woman is one of the worst decision makers I've ever seen.'_

Kasumi got into her taijutsu stance where she held both palms out forward and her elbows were sticking out to the side. Her right hand was further out than her left hand and so was her right foot compared to her left one. The weird thing about this was that her hands now glowed a soft red color, like there was a light under her skin.

"You intend to fight me bare-handed with a light show?" Beniko asked with a hint of humor in her voice, like she was trying not to laugh.

"Yes, I do." Kasumi replied, looking like she was preparing for something.

Beniko spun her scythe. "We'll see about that." She tried to cut the Kiri jounin, but Kasumi kept grabbing the handle to block any hits and then releasing it so Beniko could swing it again. The white-haired Suna kunoichi could not for the life of her see what the streaked brunette was trying to do. And to make things weirder, Kasumi always seemed to be grabbing the parts of the handle closest to her own hands.

"There. That should be enough." Kasumi said after one last grab then back away.

"What are you talking abo-AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Beniko started to ask, then screamed in pain as she dropped the scythe. She clutched her right hand and saw it was now covered in severe burn marks and welts, primarily on the palm and fingers. When she looked at the scythe, she saw the handle was glowing a hot red like it had just come out of a forge. "What the hell did you just do?"

"I don't talk about my fighting style like that." Kasumi answered.

Kasumi's family, the Midorigami, did not possess a kekkei genkai, but they did have a fighting style uniquely their own. It was called the Nenshouhira, the Burning Palm. Her clan was capable of focusing fire chakra into their palms and fingers so whatever they touch burns. And the more they touch, the worse it got for their target. First touch gave a first degree burn, second touch in same place made a second degree burn, and so on.

What Kasumi had done was keep touching Beniko's staff in the same spots over and over again until they became scolding to the touch and the puppeteer would have no choice but to let go. Beniko also had a first degree burn on her neck where Kasumi had struck her earlier. Now with her weapon too hot to handle, and her hands too burned to move properly, she was all but beaten.

Or so Kasumi thought. Beniko surprised her by grabbing her scythe with her gloved left hand and held it like there was no problem with the heat it emitted. She swung the scythe, and Kasumi had to duck to avoid being cleaved.

Kasumi looked on in confusion, not seeing how this woman could hold onto the super-heated metal pole, even with a gloved hand. The scythe handle was hot enough to give third degree burns now. Her answer came when the fabric of the glove burned away and she saw what was underneath it: A hand made of nothing but bone.

"So that's what you did. You did reattach your arm, but only the skeletal part of it." Kasumi stated. "Why the hell would you do something like that?"

"It was easier. Your explosive sword pretty much ruined my arm for me, so this is what I had to settle for. Looks like it comes in handy, and as a puppeteer, I can use my chakra to make the bones move. Most use wooden arms to replace their own, but I like to think of this as my personal signature." She flexed her bony fingers as she said that to emphasize her point.

Kasumi, her palms returning to normal, withdrew her sword again and pointed it at Beniko. "It doesn't matter. I will just slice that one off as well."

The Suna kunoichi smiled. "True, but first..." The former Suna ninja slammed her scythe onto the ground "Let me show you one of the reasons why I'm called Beniko the Corpse Herder. Corpse Summoning Jutsu!" She shouted.

There was a sudden silence in the air, and the ground began to rumble, several summoning seals appeared for a moment in the dirt. From each one of them on the ground burst a skeletal hand, which gripped the earth and pulled the rest of its body up, like a zombie digging it's way out of it's grave. The skulls stared at Kasumi with a sickly yellow glow in their eye sockets. Not only that, each of them had sharpened teeth and sharpened fingertips, and it looked like even their ribs had been sharpened.

Kasumi counted about eleven skeletons were now in front of her, held up by chakra threads connected to Beniko's burnt right hand. Intimidating as this horror show may be, she kept a calm head about it. _'Okay, there's got to be a weakness here. I can't burn them without exhausting my chakra, but maybe I can cut them.'_ She pulled out her sword and took a defensive stance before charging at the skeletons.

Beniko moved them to ambush her and overwhelm her, but Beniko spun around once with her sword out to keep them at bay. A few got knicked and the individual bones that did lightly exploded, but no hindering damage was done. Beniko laughed at her struggle. "Try as you might, my puppets are unbeatable. Only Sasori of the Red Sand was better at this than myself."

Kasumi felt something sharp pierce her shoulder from behind, but not each to go thru her. She turned to see one of the skeletons with his filed down claws stabbing her. Movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention back forward to see one of the skeletons had adjusted the position of it's ribs to point forward, as if to massively pierce her that way. Kasumi countered by thrusting her sword right between two vertebrae in the exposed spot. Soon the entire spine exploded and the skeleton collapsed.

"Ah, so they do have a weakness. Hit the spine and they fall apart." Kasumi said with a sneaky smirk. _'That's not all, they seem to be slow. She either needs a lot of chakra to keep the bones connected and mobile, or that burn I gave her is affected is control. Either way, I can finish this off soon.'_ Kasumi used this same method of striking the spine in between the vertebrae to make them explode one by one, and using taijutsu to keep the rest off her until she targeted them.

Beniko looked mad at seeing her precious bone puppets fall to pieces on the ground. "Okay, that's it. I have one last puppet for you to deal with. I would have preferred not using him but since you made me mad... Corpse Summoning Jutsu."

The skeleton pulled its entire body from the ground and stood. It was indeed a large corpse. It stood at perhaps seven feet. Its bone structure was very large and strong looking.

Unlike the other skeletons this one wore a tattered white robe. It carried no weapons and stared down intently at Kasumi.

_'Something is different about this one. I can actually sense a high level of chakra coming from it. Almost as if... no, it couldn't be. Dead bodies can't generate chakra.' _The Kiri shinobi thought as she took a defensive stance, sword still out and ready.

Beniko, as if almost reading Kasumi's thoughts, laughed loudly. "Allow me to introduce you to my most prized puppet, and the reason I had to leave Suna, the First Kazekage of Suna."

* * *

Naruto and Takeru pounced and fought directly like two savage animals. They bit and tore at each other like they were trying to painfully disembowel the other piece by piece. Naruto tried to rip off Takeru's wing and Takeru tried to crush Naruto's left leg. Takeru succeeded first, resulting in a bone snapping loudly.

Shiori stood there in shock and awe at the horrific sight, certain this would be in her nightmares along with Hikaru's death.

Naruto pulled back and Takeru flew into the air, his deformed bat wings flapped with amazing speed in order to keep the Jashinist in the air. While below Naruto clutched his injured leg, the Kyuubi's chakra was trying to heal the broken bone. Unfortunately it was not moving fast enough, and in the process, the red cloak around him faded away.

"Naruto?" Shiori called out, worried. _'Not again. I can't let another teammate be killed again.'_ Looking around, she saw something that might just give them a better chance of surviving. It was a long shot, but it was better than nothing. Without further hesitation, she ran to get it.

It was then that Takeru began to fall from the sky in a perfect nose dive, heading straight for Naruto. Combining his own weight with the force from the fall provided by gravity, he would surely crush the boy.

"Naruto!" Shiori yelled as she tossed him the black scabbard that contained Hikaru's former sword to her teammate.

Naruto turned his head and caught the sword and then gripped the hilt of the sword. Acting on sheer impulse, he pulled it from its sheath and swung the blade in front of him in the process.

Something happened. A crescent-shaped arc of white chakra shot out from the blade when Naruto released it. It moved thru the air and passed thru it appeared to do absolutely nothing. It was still enough that he suddenly pulled up from his dive and flapped in the air. "What in all the nine unholy hells was that?"

His answer came from behind, when the arc suddenly twisted and came back like a boomerang, only this time its chakra energy was a bright red and more violent looking, and it struck Takeru in the back. The Vampire Ninja let out a horrid cry of pain when it did. No longer being able to remain in the air, he fell from the sky in a free fall, his body withering and twisting in pain as he fell and struck the ground with a powerful 'THUD'.

The red arc came towards Naruto, and he held up the sword to block it. It was unneeded, as the chakra in the arc went directly to the sword and absorbed back into it harmlessly.

"He did it, he actually used it." Shiori said to herself in disbelief.

Naruto, his leg now healed, stood up. The Kyuubi's chakra which surrounded him now encompassed the blade as well. Naruto stared at the sword in his hand, and then he looked over at Shiori who seemed just as confused as he was at what had just happened. "What was that?" He asked.

"That was the Back Biter, the sword's special ability." Shiori said, still in awe.

The Kamitsuku, once Hikaru's blade, is a wind sword that sends out a crescent-shaped chakra wave that harmlessly passes thru anything, but returns to the sword and then cuts thru _everything_ like a razor, effectively striking the opponent's blindspot every time. The chakra used is taken from the wielders own reserves, which the sword combines with the chakra that was infused into it during its creation.

Shiori had only ever seen the special ability work with Hikaru though, how it had worked with Narut-

And then she realized, both Hikaru and Naruto were Wind Element types. They had a similar chakra flow, which was why Naruto could use the Back Biter. And Takeru, he must have been a different element type, so he must not have been able to use the sword's ability. If he could then he would not have thrown it away so easily.

Takeru, still gravely wounded, stood up from the ground on his elbows, and for the time in the battle actually seemed in real pain. His right wing was broken and useless, so he could no longer perform any more flying attacks. He was breathing heavily and blood, his own blood dripped from his mouth. And he stared murderously at Naruto with his sunken red eyes. "It will take more then that to stop me." He growled.

"You're cut in half at the waist. What more could it take?" Naruto asked.

"You'd be surprised." Takeru said before placing his hand on his wounds. "Total Regeneration Jutsu."

Within a few seconds, every wound on the Jashinist's body regenerated completely. It was like watching a video while it was fast-forwarding. It finished just as soon as it started, and Takeru stood up without a care.

"How... how did you do that?" Shiori asked.

"I'm blessed by Jashin. By giving myself pain many times, he cures me of it when I need to be well. Attack me all you want, I will not die from it."

Not too many people realized it, but the Jashin cult actually had many branches in it that performed their duties different ways. Takeru's branch of the cult were made of those that inflicted harm to themselves as a sign of faith, and in return were rewarded with greater resistance to pain and incredible healing, along with the ability to take on nightmarish forms. Another branch had to make sure they offered up a human sacrifice and did not make the death quick in order to receive immortality despite any wound or age they received.

Shiori glared and started to pull out her sword. "You killed my first partner. You are going to die even if it means we kill you until you don't come back."

Takeru just grinned. "I'd like to see you try."

With her sword completely drawn out Shiori glanced at her teammate, "You hit him high and I hit him low?"

Naruto narrowed his red eyes as he nodded. "Perfect."

Shiori ran ahead and Naruto ran up catch up with her. Both had swords in their hands but only Shiori looked like she knew what she was doing. Not to mention when she ran Takeru couldn't even seen her blade. "Mist Style Severing Spiral Slice." She called out when she got close enough. What she did was plant her right foot firmly on the ground then spin her whole body to swing her sword, which went right thru Takeru's right calf, bone included, and cut it off, and then she continued her spin but raised her sword higher to repeat the damage to his right thigh.

At the same time this happened, Naruto attempted to repeat that Back Biter move again. Apparently he had a difficult time doing it on purpose, so the sword didn't respond. So he opted to just pierce the enemy in what he hoped was a vital spot. This ended up being between the left collar bone and the heart, but still damaging the lung.

Takeru yelled from both attacks and started to fall over. He flapped his wings before he did to stay up and tried to fly away, but Naruto's weight threw him off and made him too heavy to do anything. "I still would prefer to sacrifice you, so I can't kill you yet But that doesn't mean I can't maim you." He declared as he grabbed ahold of both of Naruto's arms, ready to rip them straight out of their sockets.

"Water Style Seasnake Jutsu." Shiori called out, using the collected rainwater on the ground to make three snakes made of water that constricted around Takeru. Two of them each wrapped around a separate arm and tried to make him lose his grip on Naruto, while the third wrapped around Takeru's neck, trying to strangle him.

With Shiori's help, Naruto was able to get loose and pull the sword he was using out of his enemy. Once free, he put some distance between himself and the Jashinist.

"Try using the Back Biter again. As long as I have his arms kept apart, he can't make handsigns so he can't regenerate." Shiori told him.

"How do I do it? I wasn't even trying the first time?"

"Just put your chakra into the blade and swing it where you want to strike. The sword will handle the rest."

Before Naruto got a chance to, Takeru broke free, panting heavily. "You think... 'pant'... such a weak jutsu would... 'pant'... restrain _me_?"

"It did what I wanted it to." Shiori said before holding her sword out in front of her, ready to keep fighting. By now the rain had washed off all of Takeru's blood from the blade.

Takeru was only slightly unnerved by this red-haired girl's stance. _'Wait, I couldn't see her sword at all when she moved, and now that she stands still... I STILL can't see it. What the hell?'_

Naruto formed a cross sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." He formed close to thirty clones and they all ran to Takeru. Since being restrained by Shiori's water jutsu, he had yet to take to the air again, and had yet to heal himself of the damage done to his right leg. And with all of these clones trying to pound him into unconsciousness, he wasn't going to get a chance to do either soon.

Shiori used this as a diversion to sneak behind Takeru. She wanted to cut off the Jashinist's head from behind, but his fluttering bat wings kept getting in the way. _'Guess I'll have to settle for that for now. Naruto you better keep him distracted long enough for me to do this right.'_ She then swung her sword down to cleave the right wing off completely at the base, and succeeded.

Takeru screamed in agony, allowing Naruto's clones to inflict further hits on him. Shiori brought her sword back up and brought it down upon his left wing, removing it as well. But before she could move to remove his head, several spikes grew out of Takeru's back and shot right at the girl.

Naruto heard his partner scream and a sword fall to the ground behind his foe. "Shiori!"


	19. Chapter 19

_I want everyone to know that this chapter was written before the manga or anime said anything regarding the First Kazekage's skills, so don't complain if it turns out to not follow canon. _

_Also, pics for this fic are now available on Deviantart. Links are available on my profile._

Kasumi heard Naruto yell Shiori's name and couldn't help but look in that direction. The sound of rattling bones however drew her attention back to her own fight and she had to use her sword to block a hit from the large skeleton.

_'Damn, the First Kazekage of all people? No wonder she had to go on the lam. No village would accept their leader's remains being used like this.'_ Kasumi told herself. _'So what can I do about it? This skeleton must have a special skill to it for her to save it as a last resort. All I know about the First Kazekage is he founded Suna and was supposed to be a powerful man. Outside that, I haven't a clue what to expect.'_

"I really hate to use this puppet here, but you leave me no choice." Beniko said, putting her scythe down to use both hands to control this large skeleton.

_'She needs both hands for this one?'_ Kasumi asked herself. _'Is it because both hands are injured, or does this one have a skill that requires more control for her?'_

Beniko waved her hands down and the skeleton placed both hands on the ground. Suddenly the ground in front of it, including the land Kasumi stood on, solidified and looked like a giant sheet of smooth rock, possibly marble.

"The skeleton can perform jutsu?" Kasumi asked in complete disbelief. "Impossible!"

"Not impossible, just improbable." Beniko replied. "Normally you would be right, a corpse would not retain any chakra, especially once it starts decaying. But I know a way to make some skeletons keep their chakra and use it when I make them. It's a difficult procedure and the odds of success are quite small, but when they work they are quite fruitful. See for yourself."

The kazekage's skeleton made no movement, but something had to have happened since the marble in front of Kasumi created a wave of spikes that quickly came towards her. She had to jump into the trees to her right and even then still not the trees right next to the immediate area to avoid the hit.

_'She's one hell of a puppeteer. Fights even without her puppets, uses summons and intimidating tools, and her puppets can even use jutsu. No wonder the Yakuza keep her in their ranks.'_ Kasumi thought, mildly impressed by her opponent but still wanting nothing more to end this fight and come out alive, her and her students.

* * *

Naruto couldn't see what happened to Shiori since Takeru was blocking his view, but he could smell blood. He didn't know how he could, and he didn't care. He didn't even think, all he felt was a need to hurt the transformed bastard in front of him.

He growled and clenched his fists, unaware that the red chakra was building up around him again. This time it was starting to take on a shape rather than just bubble around him. He couldn't see it, but it started to look... alive.

Reacting quickly, Naruto lunged forward holding Hikaru's former sword. Takeru didn't block but did move enough so that the point of the sword would hit his shoulder rather than carotid artery. Even he couldn't risk an incredibly fatal wound that could kill him before he regenerated himself.

Naruto channeled some chakra into the blade and it immediately reacted. Wind chakra started to swirl around the blade in a chainsaw-like manner, shredding the flesh the blade was impaled in. The damage was even amplified by the red chakra, allowing Naruto to completely sever the arm from the torso.

Takeru screamed bloody murder. _'How can this be? I'm used to taking pain. How can he hurt me this much? Jashin MUST have his blood!'_ He thought as he tried to get back and have room to heal.

Naruto pulled back his sword in hand and wanted to try another attack, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Shiori on her hand and knees, her left hand clutching her stomach. _'She's not dead?'_ Briefly losing interest in the vampire ninja, he rushed over to his teammate's side. "Shiori?"

The redhead looked up at the red chakra-covered blonde. "I'm okay, he only grazed me." She moved her blood-covered hand to reveal a nasty wound on her left abdomen. Her clothes weren't damaged since the cut was on her exposed midriff. "Get him before he-"

"Total Regeneration Jutsu."

"Too late." Shiori sadly said, lowering her head. she then raised it up and looked defiantly into Naruto's eyes. "Naruto, we cannot let this guy win. Help me kill him, and I promise I'll accept you as my new teammate."

Naruto smiled. "I'll beat this guy. That's the promise of a lifetime." He said before turning to face an attacking Takeru and swung his sword.

It missed, but it made Takeru stop in his tracks. _'Oh crap, he just did that backside attack again. Well I'm not falling for that twice.'_ He then knelt down in hopes the attack would pass over him. The transformed ninja smiled, but yelled when he felt his wings cut off.

"Good job Naruto, pretending to use the Back Biter so he'd divert his guard away from us." Shiori told her blonde partner.

_'What the...? He tricked me?'_ Takeru though, outraged, before getting back up on his feet. When he did, he felt something stab him in his ribcage.

"Just try and regenerate now you son of a bitch." Shiori venomously said as she twisted her sword a little, aggravating the wound.

Takeru could feel the sword hitting his heart, and he could feel the energy start to leave his body. He did not have the strength to even start performing the Total Regeneration Jutsu. Even if he did though it would not matter, once the heart had been tampered with it, a person could only live for about fifteen seconds afterwards. He knew that for a fact.

The demonic features began to fade and shrink back into the skin. The wing stumbs withdrew back into the body, after first shriveling up like a raisin in the sun. He soon looked normal… or normal enough.

The Vampire Ninja looked into Shiori's eyes and he smiled cruelly. "Such dark, hateful, death-craving eyes… I love those eyes. It's a shame Jashin will not... have... them." Then the red glow from Takeru's eyes faded and he feel backwards, landing on the ground, dead.

Naruto's head hurt for a moment, and for a brief second, he swore he saw the image of two dead bodies lying before him. One was an older man with his face wrapped up and his hair cut short, the other was someone close to his own age with a peaceful expression and long hair. They were laying side by side, as if placed that way.

_'What was that?'_ Naruto asked. He was able to push the image out of his mind, but he didn't forget it.

Shiori sighed as if a huge weight had been lifted off her. She slowly turned to look at the blonde beside her. "Naruto... thank you."

Hearing her soft voice made him ignore the image strongly in his mind. "No problem. Are you okay?"

The redhead slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I said I would kill the man who killed Hikaru-kun and I did. It won't bring him back, but now I can feel better about not being able to save him."

Naruto looked behind himself. "Feel better later. We should go help Kasumi-sensei."

"Oh, right." Shiori said as if just then remembering her sensei was in a fight too, and ran off to go assist her. Naruto followed.

* * *

Kasumi was down on her knees panting and bleeding. None of her moves and techniques were working. Her Nenshouhira couldn't do enough damage quick enough and her Bakupiri couldn't make a mark on the earth jutsus used by the First Kazekage's skeleton. She had gotten a few cuts from jutsus done to create spikes that happened to knick her in several places, and from a punch from the large skeleton to the gut, but no dangerous damage had been done

_'Damn, she's tough. I need to get out of here now rather than continue this fight.'_ Kasumi thought, suppressing the need to hack up some more blood.

Beniko smiled at her opponent's agony. "Like it? This guy's my masterpiece puppet, the hardest one to beat. He even has the kekkei genkai the kazekage had in life too, Metamorphic Chakra. Most earth jutsu users can only use the minerals around them, but the First Kazekage was able to use his chakra to transform one type of mineral into another for any purpose he needed. He used it to create the building materials for Suna out of sand, the surrounding walls, and even the fertile farmlands with it too. Me, I prefer using it to make valuable things like gold or ivory."

"So that's why you keep the remains of your homeland's leader? To pad your wallet?" Kasumi asked, sounding disgusted.

"You make it sound like a bad thing." Beniko replied, weaving her hands to get her puppet ready.

"DUH!"

"Oh don't tell me you're one of those soft-hearted 'respect the dead' kind of person. They're dead! What do they care what's done with them?" Beniko all but shouted.

"Tell that to them once you join them!" Kasumi said, using her sword to block a hit from the skeleton.

"I think I'll use your bones to add to my collection." Beniko said when she pulled the skeleton away.

Kasumi repositioned her sword to be defensive, but when she did, it broke into a few big pieces. "What the-? My Bakupiri!"

Beniko laughed. "Didn't I tell you? The First Kazekage could change one mineral into another. I just had him change the metal in your sword into a more fragile one. You can't fight with a broken blade."

"Bakupiri..." Kasumi said sadly, almost mournful, as she held the undamaged handle and picked up the pieces of the blade. Beniko kept laughing, amused by this so much she withheld her next attack to allow the streaked-brunette to cry over her weapon. Kasumi then glared daggers at the white-haired ex Suna kunoichi. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Oh yeah? How?" Beniko asked, challengingly and mockingly.

Kasumi performed five hand signs. "Fire Style Incinerating Cylinder Jutsu!" She then exhaled a small stream of fire that hit the ground right in front of Beniko's feet. From there it created a thick ring around here and a large pillar of fire rose around her. The flames even disrupted the chakra strings controlling the First Kazekage so the skeleton collapsed.

_'The flames aren't even touching me, just trapping me.'_ Beniko thought as she wondered what to do. _'Makes me a sitting duck, and it's getting really hot in here just being close to the flames. But if I jump out from the top, I'm still making myself an easy target since I can't dodge in mid-air. I've only got one way out.'_

The Kiri kunoichi looked up, waiting for her enemy to reappear. _'If she waits too long to get out, she's cook in there. So she's got to come out sooner or la-'_ She was cut off by seeing and hearing cracks under the ground close to her and jumped away. _'She left going under. Clever, but I'm still going to kill her.'_ She performed two hand signs. "Fire Style Dragonbreath Jutsu!" She exhaled a large ball of flame that flew at the emerging puppeteer while the pillar of fire died out.

She saw her fireball hit a target, but it didn't sound human. Instead it sounded more like a suffering animal.

Something much smaller than a human was now ablaze and running around the marble ground, trying to put itself out. The rain helped put out the fire but not quick enough for the victims tastes. Kasumi's eyes widened when she saw it was a large rat.

Beniko emerged from the hole and regained control over the First Kazekage. "I don't like it when people hurt my rats."

"Then you shouldn't have had it take the hit for you." Kasumi countered.

"I was hoping to catch you off guard." Beniko said as she made the skeleton perform a jutsu and create a set of bars around Kasumi. The Kiri jounin tried to jump away from them but these bars grew too fast for her to be able to. She was trapped in what looked like a birdcage.

_'Damn, the dehydration must be kicking in. I'm getting slow.'_ Kasumi thought while panting. The downside to her Nenshouhira techniques was that an experienced user would generally create more body heat than normal, thus dehydrating them sooner in strenuous activity such as combat. She reached for her water bottle which hung from her scabbard, disconnected it, and took a long drink to cool off and rehydrate.

"This is one of my favorite techniques." Beniko said before releasing the skeletal puppet. "Did you know that long ago prisoners would sometimes have to wear helmets where the only thing keeping their faces away from hungry rats was an easily removal screen? Think of this as a lifesize version of that without a screen." The white-haired woman then summoned a large cluster of normal-sized rats, roughly twenty total from what Kasumi could tell, and they scurried to enter the cage thru the gaps in the bar.

"Two can play at that game." Kasumi said before summoning an alligator to devour the rats. It was a normal sized alligator and it was more than eager to devour the rodents. But in no time Kasumi realized her error. _'Oh crap! He can't move around that well in this cramped space. The rats will find a way around him and-'_

And sure enough, the rats did manage to group up in an area the alligator couldn't get too and became to crawl up Kasumi's legs and clothes. "Fire Style Overheat Jutsu." Kasumi's body became much hotter to the touch, making the rats jump off to avoid being burned. But this couldn't last long as it would cause her clothes to combust if left going and would dehydrate her even more. Kasumi cancelled the jutsu and almost fell to her knees, landing instead on her alligators back panting.

"Any last words?" Beniko taunted.

The next thing she knew, was a sudden piercing pain that originated behind her stomach and reached her abdomen too. She slowly looked down and saw her blood and a thin wound characteristic of a sword piercing, but she didn't see the blade. She saw blood covering where the blade was supposed to be, and felt metal in her wound, but saw nothing.

"You forgot she didn't come here alone." Shiori said before quickly pulling her sword out of the former Suna kunoichi.

Beniko fell to her knees in horror, turning around to see the redhead girl. _'I was hit from behind by a mere genin?'_ She frowned, clutching her burning stomach. _'She's a true shinobi, taking any chance to win even if it's underhanded. I'll give her that much.'_

Shiori took a black cloth out of a pocket she had and wiped her sword clean. "I pierced your stomach. Your digestive acids should be leaking into your body as we speak. Unless you know some really good medic jutsu, you've probably got about four minutes left to live." She stopped wiping and looked at her blade. "I sure hope the acids didn't damage my Mienaito."

Beniko happened to notice the blade the Kiri genin was holding, and was stunned. _'I can't see the blade, only the handle and guard. But I know she pierced me. Her blade... is invisible?'_

Ignoring her downed target, Shiori looked over towards Naruto, who was trying to break Kasumi out of her cage. He looked like he was trying to use Hikaru's sword close range technique to break open the bars. _'Amazing. In just five minutes he's been able to use the Back Biter and the Bone Biter techniques. Maybe he should keep the sword for now, so in a way it will be like a part of Hikaru-kun is still with us.'_

Shiori had to return to the present right away as Beniko grabbed her scythe and charged at her like a marauder. Shiori was caught off-guard by this but used her sword to block the attack, resulting in the two women facing each other closely and Beniko looking really mad. At this distance Shiori was able to see the whites of Beniko's eyes briefly turn a sick green.

"Nice try little bitch! But I ain't dying today!"

* * *

"Kasumi-sensei!" Naruto said as he broke up the marble cage holding her in. Seeing a bunch of rats on her, he came up and starting grabbing them and throwing them off her. With the cage open, the alligator was able to carry Kasumi outside and had more room to devour the many rats.

The Kiri jounin looked up at her new student. "Naruto, go help Shiori-san. This woman... too tough for a one-on-one fight. I'll be fine... assist Shiori-san." She sounded really tired and thirsty.

Naruto still looked hesitant to leave his new sensei, so the alligator looked at him momentarily. "She'll be fine, I got her back. Now go!" With that, Naruto finally nodded and went to help his teammate, who was in a deadlock with the white-haired puppeteer. The sound of him running must have alerted them both, for Beniko jumped away from Shiori to avoid any hits. Naruto stood beside his teammate, both of them holding their swords out.

Shiori looked at their opponent and was shocked. "Your stomach? How can it be healed? That's..." She trailed off, not sure what to say.

Beniko smirked. "Impossible? I get that a lot." She looked around herself. _'The jounin is down but not out, and the genin look weary but fresh for battle still. If they're here, then they had to have done something to Takeru, maybe even killed him. I can easily keep fighting, but I can't use the First's skeleton much longer and fighting these two directly is too risky now that I've used my failsafe.'_ After thinking it over, Beniko put her scythe handle under her arm and used the puppetry jutsu to bring the First Kazekage's skeleton to her.

"Pray we don't meet again, for your bones will then become my toys." She said before disappearing in a sand shushin.

With her and most of the rats gone, Naruto and Shiori went to check on their sensei. Kasumi sat up, on the ground next to her alligator, drinking from her water bottle. When she finished she wiped her mouth and smiled. "Good work you two. What about the back-up?"

"I killed him. He was the one who killed Hikaru-kun and took his sword. So I returned the favor." Shiori answered.

Kasumi nodded in understanding. "By the way Naruto-kun, did I see use actually using Hikaru's sword? I'm impressed."

"Thanks Sensei, but what do we do now?"

"First, I'm going to rehydrate. Then we're going to go into town and deal with the guy who hired these thugs. Once we do that, our mission will be complete. But we better hurry, so she doesn't get there first." Kasumi said, standing up and drinking some more water.

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "How much water do you have in that thing?"

"Plenty." Kasumi answered. "There are storage seals carefully placed inside the bottle to store extra water, giving me gallons to drink from. I'm not running out anytime soon." She clipped the water bottle back on her scabbard, and placed the broken pieces of her Bakupiri in her pouch. "Naruto-kun, could I borrow that sword for a bit?"

* * *

Daikai sat in his chair as he sipped a glass of warm sake. The rain had finally stopped but he could still hear the thunder in the distance. He was glad for that; he hated the rain.

The master of the port pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time, and right on schedule the bells in the clock tower went off.

Things were finally getting back to normal around the port. The people were returning to work, lest his men burn down their houses so they'd have nowhere else to be during the day. And pretty soon the cargo ships would be returning to the docks. Once they did Daikai would finally be able to see some real money.

He would be able to create new trade industries and bring in more foreign businesses from other nations. And pretty soon he would be able to hire his own personal team of ninjas. Ones who were even stronger, but easier to control, then Beniko or that blood obsessed Takeru. He might even order them to be killed.

Daikai smiled at that idea. Killing off two of the Yakuza's best killers, that would strike a big blow to the shady organization, and it would teach them and others what happens when they try and push equally shady people around.

The Governor took another sip of sake and closed his eyes, thinking about the plans for the future. _'Life is good, once you take the reins rather than submit to the whip.'_

However his dreams were quickly interrupted by shouting coming from outside his door. Daikai opened his eyes and sat up in his chair, slowing setting the glass down on the table. The shouting grew louder, accompanied by the sound of clashing metal and splintering wood. And then after a few minutes there was utter silence.

And then the double doors of Daikai's office exploded right off their hinges. The corrupt Governor ducked under his desk to dodge the small bits of wood. And when he looked back up he watched as Kasumi walked into the office, and behind her both Naruto and Shiori were standing above all Daikai's unconscious bodyguards.

"Governor Daikai of Pōto no Tenshi, by order of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightining I hereby place you under arrest."

Daikai meanwhile was tapping his security button furiously, trying to alert all of his troops, and he kept expecting Beniko and Takeru to show up any second.

Kasumi smiled, "Its no use trying to call for help, your ninja are dead and your men have been incapacitated"

Daikai's eyes widened and he visibly began to sweat bullets as he withdrew his finger from the button. He tried to smile and act calm as he spoke. "I don't suppose you and your friends would be willing to serve me for 50,000 Ryu?" He asked

Suddenly the tip of Hikaru's sword, currently in Kasumi's hands, was at his throat. She couldn't use the sword, but he didn't need to know that. "If I were you, I would save your words for when the Daimyo's troops arrive."

The now ex-Governor groaned, his visions of grandeur shattered.

* * *

It was amazing how fast the Daimyo's soldiers came, nearly five hundred of them all heavily armed. They lead Daikai and every one of his henchmen and thugs away in shackles the next morning after a long night of being in a prison cell surrounded by alligators.

A soldier, with the rank of Captain, walked up to Kasumi and saluted. "Madame, on behalf of the Lord of the Land of Lightning, I personally thank you, your team, and your Mizukage for dealing with this situation. And your reward of course-" He gestured for one of his troops who walked forward carrying a case, which opened revealed 500,000 Ryu. "This is payment for the mission" He then produced three small note sleeves which he handed to Kasumi, Naruto, and Shiori and when they opened contained 10,000 Ryu, "And this is a personal gift from the Daimyo for ending this rebellion so quickly."

Kasumi nodded. "We are just doing our job, and please thank the Daimyo for his generosity."

The Captain saluted and then walked off to the Governor's mansion, because until a new leader was selected, he would be in charge of the port.

After stuffing the envelope in her pocket, and taking the case filled with their payment, Kasumi turned to her students. "I think we have spent a bit too much time in this country, so let's go home."

There was no argument from either Shiori or Naruto.

They took the main road to get out of the city, and would reach the nearest harbor in about two hours. After that they would find a ferry back to Kiri and then...

"Lots of ramen" Naruto said as he thought of eating a few dozen bowls of beef ramen. He could practically taste the stuff right now.

"You know baka, as good as ramen is, there are other foods out there. Some that come with a little something we like to call 'nutrition'." Shiori said.

"She is right Naruto, it is not good to eat nothing but ramen."

And then suddenly a voice jumped into the conversation. "I would have to agree with the boy, Ramen is a good meal. It comes in a variety of flavors, is easily prepared, and can keep you warm too."

Kasumi, Shiori, and Naruto spun around to see where the voice had originated from. And when she saw the speaker, Kasumi's blinked several times in disbelief, "It… it can't be."

Standing behind them looking as if he had appeared out of nowhere, dressed in a blue robe and holding a pipe, was Utakata, a former ninja of Kiri and the host for the Six-Tailed Slug.


	20. Chapter 20

_"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back home?"_

_The strange new man shook his head. "My reasons for my being here are unimportant. What is important is that apparently someone here has something I need."_

_The man in the group of three got defensive. "You're not taking anything from us!"_

_The newcomer smirked, as if to challenge the one standing up to him. "Do you know who I am? Or what I'm capable of?"_

_The woman closest to her trio's defender came up to him and tried to pull him back. "You must not fight him. He may have the heart of a noble, but he has the strength of a monster. You cannot face him now."_

_"If he thinks he can just take something from us he's sorely mistaken."_

_The newcomer put his hands in his pockets. "Young man, did I ever actually say I was going to TAKE anything from you?" This confused the group before him. "I have no intention of harming you. I simply wish to inquire about what peaked my interest."_

_"What is it you claim you need?" The eldest in the traveling group asked._

_"What I need... is-"_

"Hmm... what to add from there?" Hinata asked, stopping where she was writing to think it over. "Do I phrase it cryptically, or leave a cliffhanger to build suspense? Knowing Jiraiya-sama, he'd probably say something like a cryptic cliffhanger. Yeah, I'll go with that… but cliffhangers always make people angry, then they start flipping through the pages to figure out the answer without going through the buildup… so maybe I should just make it cryptic. Gah writing is hard. No wonder Jiraiya-sama needs to seek inspiration." She groaned as she scribbled some side notes.

It was mid-afternoon on a clear day in Land of Fire and Hinata was seated outside against a tree working on her assignment. Jiraiya told her that every day they'd stop physical training for two hours to give Hinata some time to rest and recover, and during that time she was to work on possible ideas and scenes for his book. He had yet to be specific on much, and thus told her to come up with anything and everything she could until he got a good idea just where he wanted to take his plotline.

For Hinata this was relatively easy and quite soothing, but also saddening at times. Part of the reason was she found it easier to write things that either _di_d happen between her and Naruto, slightly edited of course to protect their identities, or things that she _wanted_ to have happen between her and Naruto, which made her want to find him even sooner. She had yet to write anything ecchi, but only because Jiraiya told her not to worry about those parts. He said he would handle them when the time came, which still confused her. Jiraiya seemed to be the exact opposite of Tsunade, but he was still one of three great sannin, so she would not question his personality or behavior at the moment.

Jiraiya was currently away getting in touch with a nearby contact in his spy network, leaving her to rest up. He wasn't too far away, still within the range of her byakugan if she needed to activate it, but they both had some private time right then. Hinata was a little worried about being left alone in the unknown area, but she was consuled by the toad sage's kind words.

_"If anyone comes by wanting to give you trouble, summon a toad if you have to, but don't be afraid to kick ass. You're a woman Hinata so I have no doubt you could beat up a man until he begged for mercy. I've never seen a woman who couldn't. And if you need more motivation, pretend the jerk is the guy who tried to kill Naruto."_

With that in mind, Hinata felt like she could handle herself for a short time. And for that short time, she was working on writing random scenes for Jiraiya's book. She admitted it was strangely relaxing to just sit down and do this.

What the young girl didn't realize was that this was one of Jiraiya's methods of improving her mentally rather than physically. When Tsunade pretty much ordered him to take Hiashi's oldest as a student in the search for Naruto, he made sure to learn about her first. He checked things like mission reports and and word-of-mouth from those that knew her like Kurenai. From what he gathered, the girl's single biggest weakness was her crippling low self-esteem. So in order to make her a better ninja, he needed to get her to stop doubting herself so much.

The first step was her private venting sessions, which were now no longer necessary. Being able to freely get her repressed anger out of her system had done wonders for Hinata in ways Jiraiya hadn't expected. Her stutter was all but nonexistent now and her chakra flowed freely thru her rather than restricted. He theorized that both of those traits had been because the girl had been demoralized to the point that she had become so afraid to say or do the wrong thing that she could barely say or do anything right unless it really meant something to her. Now after venting, her eyes had been opened just enough that she didn't care as much if she did please those that wouldn't give her the time of day.

The second step was exposing her to new training methods. While the Hyuuga were good at handling almost any situation that came at them, Jiraiya had reason to believe they didn't focus that much on improvising. For ninja, improvising was essential. You couldn't get into fights assuming you knew every way your opponent was going to react. Heck, one of Naruto's strongest advantages was improvising, so Jiraiya tried getting Hinata to think outside the box in some training methods.

The third step was the simplest one, having her write. By writing whatever came to mind, not only did it relax Hinata, but it got her creativity flowing which in turn would help her improvise. Writing things that were basically memories or wishes for herself and Naruto also kept her spirits up despite the knowledge that the search for him would take a while. That also would help her be strong for when she did find him, instead of reverting to her meek self again.

Hinata was for the most part unaware of these changes she was already experiencing. She did notice her stutter had vanished, and she slept better knowing she had proof Naruto was alive somewhere, but outside that she noticed no difference in herself. But Jiraiya certainly did. Her movements were less held back, her tendency to withhold her opinion when asked weakened, and her posture improved. Overall, Hinata was beginning to become what she always wanted to be, someone she could respect.

"What I need is... to see my dear one." Hinata said as she wrote down her own words, picturing Naruto saying them as she did. "Yeah, that works, especially if the chapter ends there."

A small gust of wind blew by, putting some of Hinata's hair in her face. Annoyed, she brushed it out of her eyes. "Dang it, maybe I should ignore Jiraiya-sensei and cut it anyway."

_(Flashback)_

_"Um…Jiraiya-sensei… when are you gonna show me some new jutsu?" Hinata asked, slightly timid._

_Jiraiya spun around and looked down upon Hinata. "WHAT? Here I go, taking you on as my apprentice, letting you make a pact with the toads, and even help me with my research and you have the nerve to ask for more?" He demanded, leaning forward._

_Hinata started to revert back to her old self, pressing her fingers together. "W… we... well I jus… just thought that-"_

_It was then that Jiraiya started to laugh. "Calm down kid, I was just kidding. Remember, part of your training is going to be building self-confidence. If I or someone else starts to intimidate you, you have got to stand up to them, be assertive. Now ask that question again. But with force this time."_

_Hinata nodded, and she took a few breaths. "Jiriya-sensei, I want to learn some new jutsus." She said with all the confidence and courage she could muster._

_The Toad Sage smiled. "That's better. And you're right, I guess it is time to teach you some new techniques." Jiraiya then began to ponder aloud, "Alright then, let me think here. I'm afraid I don't know any water style jutsus. My specialty is in fire and earth style. And fire would probably be out for you since it's the polar opposite to water." After another moment of thought, he suddenly came up with an idea._

_"Tell me, do you prefer your hair short or long?" He asked_

_Hinata was confused by such a question but answered anyway "It has always been short, but I have always wanted to grow it out beca-"_

_"Perfect." Jiraiya said as he handed her a food pill. "Take this. It will help for what I have planned." Hinata was confused but after a moment's hesitation swallowed the pill. Jiraiya then performed several hand signs and then placed his left hand on top of Hinata's head._

_Hinata could feel a tingling in her scalp for a moment, and then she saw as her bangs began to grown. Her hair was getting longer. Jiraiya had performed a type of medical jutsu that would increase a person's metabolism, however he kept it concentrated on Hinata's hair, increasing the growth and division of cells at a rapid pace, allowing her hair to grow longer. After just a few moments, it had already reached her shoulders, and after a few more minutes, when it had fallen past her shoulders and bit more down her back, did Jiraiya remove his hand._

_"Not bad, might need a trim here and there, but not bad." He said._

_Hinata held her bangs away from her eyes as she quickly opened up her bag and took out a small mirror she had kept in there. With it she studied her new hairstyle, and while the look surprised her, she had to admit that worked well with her._

_"Okay kid, there are a few jutsu's I am going to show that involve… the hair." He said as he flicked his own white hair around._

_Hinata listened intently._

_"The first is the Hari Jigoku, which allows one to extend their hair around their body and for the user to shoot multiple hardened needle-like hair towards the enemy." He said as he did the necessary hand signs, and suddenly his hair became needle-like and he crouched down and a few of the needles shot out like projected kunais and implanted themselves in a nearby tree._

_Hinata was in awe at this, having never seen this jutsu before._

_"Second, the Hari Jizō. This is a technique where the user encases themselves in a countless number of sharp needles, but in truth, the spikes are the user's hair. Chakra grants the strands of hair the hardness and shape of needles, endowed with a capacity to injure and kill on par with that of metallic weapons." This time Jiraiya's hair began to wrap itself around him, encasing him from head to toe, the ends of the hair became sharp and pointed, looking ready to impale anything that even got close._

_This reminded Hinata of Gaara from the chūnin exam, and how the Suna genin had used the sand to form a protective barrier around himself._

_Suddenly the hair began to recede back to its normal length, and Jiraiya stood there, his position unchanged. "As you can see I don't need hair that hangs to my feet to do this. I'm experienced with using these so my hair naturally grows to respond to the chakra. When you just start out learning it like yourself, it helps to already have it at the required length. There are two other types for this kind of jutsu, however I can't really show either of them to you at this time. The first is because we would need more breathing room and the second is that it would take a lot of your chakra and would leave you severely weakened. So at the moment let's just focus on those two."_

_(End Flashback)_

So now Hinata sported hair that reached her waist with her bangs cut out of her eyes at least, though the hair around her ears still got in her way sometimes. Outside that she still looked the same as ever, just much less insecure.

"What else should I add while I have more time?" Hinata asked herself, her fingers tapping Naruto's hitai-ate as she thought for an answer. As she thought about it, something else briefly popped in her mind instead.

_(Flashback)_

_"Jiraiya-sensei, since the summoning scroll proves that Naruto-kun is still alive, shouldn't we inform Hokage-sama?" Hinata asked the day after they checked the toad scroll._

_"I can see why you'd think that, and to be honest I'm still strongly tempted to do so. However, for the time being we won't tell the hokage this." The Toad Sage answered._

_Hinata stiffened in her steps. "What? Why not?"_

_"Listen carefully Hinata. Here's what will happen if we do send word to Tsunade Naruto is alive. First, she will want to know how we know this. We can tell her, and since she has access to a summoning scroll too she already knows that alone can prove someone's alive or not. However, she's going to be pushing for actually finding him, which we currently can't do. Now that's not the bad part. The bad part is it would be possible for someone in Konoha to find out Naruto's still alive."_

_"Once that happens, something terrible will be inevitable." Jiraiya continued. "As you know, there are people who are glad to think Naruto's dead. If word gets out that he's still alive, you think they're just going to accept it? If anything they may try to send out hunter nin to finish the job before anyone can stop them. And with the way hunter nin do their job, there's always the risk that they could find Naruto before we do, and if they do, then Naruto's in danger."_

_Hinata was eye-wided, but nodded in understanding. "You're right. Hokage-sama would be likely to tell my friends so they wouldn't worry or grieve, and there's no guarantee they could keep this covered. If they told anyone, then it's only a matter of time before everyone knew and decided to do something about it."_

_Jiraiya nodded. "Exactly. As much as I don't like it, and as much as Tsunade is going to be pissed that we didn't tell her right away, for Naruto's best interest we need to be the only two aware he's alive. Not to mention that it would be better to tell Tsunade how he is rather than he's just alive."_

_(End Flashback)_

"Naruto-kun... wherever you are, just please be patient, and safe." Hinata whispered to herself.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Ino knocked on the Haruno household's door "Hey Forehead, are you in there?" Ino called.

No one had seen Sakura for the past three days. And Ino was starting to become worried about her friend. Ever since her mother had been executed, Sakura had been living alone. And at first she seemed to be okay, since she had requested this. But over the passing weeks people had begun to notice a few changes come over Sakura.

The first was that her hair became unkempt, looking more and more like she had just rolled out of bed and left it like that.

Then there were the appearance of lines forming under the pinkette's eyes, becoming more and more pronounced as the days progressed. Soon she could have passed as someone related to Gaara.

Finally, Sakura seemed to become more and more withdrawn from her usual social behavior. She started visiting the flower shop, the hospital, and even the Hokage less and less, and people would often just see her wandering around the streets in an almost trance-like state. And then she stopped coming out in public at all.

This started to worry people, and finally Tsunade had enough, so she asked Sakura's closest friend to go and check to make sure she was okay.

Ino immediately agreed, and had rushed over.

The platinum blonde banged on the door, hard. "Sakura, open this door. I know you're in there." She yelled, but there was still no reply.

_'Okay, that's it.'_ She thought, having grown tired of this. Lifting and drawing back her foot, Ino kicked the door open, which was rather easy, due to the fact that it was not even locked. After mentally face-palming herself, Ino walked into the house.

The first thing she noticed was how dark it was. None of the lights were on in the house, and all of the curtains had been drawn shut. There was also a hot and musty feeling to the air Ino couldn't quite describe.

She immediately checked the living room, only to find it empty, and it looked like it had not been touched in weeks.

She then walked down the hallway, finding dirty clothing just lying about. She found the door to Sakura's room wide open. Ino took a step into the room, and she heard a crunching sound. She looked down and saw pictures lying scattered all over the floor. Ino raised a brow at this, and then she continued to look around. She saw that the bed was unmade but it had definitely been used recently. She also took note that there was clothing, both dirty and clean, just tossed all over the floor and furniture.

Ino backed out of the bedroom. She had been here many times before, and had always felt a happy vibe to it, but now it just felt sad and gloomy. It almost felt like a crypt.

She walked down the hall, heading towards the kitchen. When she walked thru the doorway, she nearly gagged right then and there.

The sink was filled with dirty dishes, some still had uneaten bits of food on them. There was trash all over the floor, and she could have sworn she saw something, insects maybe, scurry across the floor. There was a stack of mail on the kitchen counter. When she walked over and picked up one of them she saw that nearly all of them were bills, some marked as 'Urgent' or 'Final Notice', yet none of them had been opened.

It was then that Ino heard a slight sound of movement. She spun around to see, sitting in a chair, with her head lying in her arms on the table was Sakura, sleeping, although it looked more like she was dead.

The girl ran over immediately and gently shook Sakura, trying to wake her up. "Sakura? Sakura, come on wake up." She said, with trace bits of fear in her voice.

Suddenly, Sakura sat up so quickly that it made Ino jump back.

When Sakura spoke her voice sounded weak and far away, her lips dru and her eyes not fully open. "Huh… wha...? Oh Ino, I'm sorry I did not hear you come in… let me get you some tea." She said as she stood up from the chair, although it looked like it took some effort.

Ino stared at her friend. Was she even aware of what was going on? "Sakura, what is going on? What has happened here?" she demanded.

Sakura did not seem to hear the question. She walked over to cabinet and took out a cup, but it slipped through her fingers and smashed onto the floor, but she did not seem to notice or even care, acting as if she had never even dropped it. "Oh tired, just a little tired… my head has been hurting… need to take a painkiller." She said as she started to reach over to the medicine cabinet, opening it and taking out a bottle of aspirin.

It was then that Ino made her move. She smacked the bottle out of Sakura's hand, and the small red pills spilled and bounced all over the floor.

Sakura, with a dull glazed look in her eye began to bend down and move her hand across the ground, cutting herself on the shards of the cup she had just dropped, blood began to drip down her hands. "Oh dear, I made a mess… I need to clean that up later."

Ino became frantic. She picked Sakura up off the ground and shook her dear friend, trying to get some sense into her. "Sakura, stop this. Look at yourself. You need to go to the hospital."

"Hospital… no, my shift does not start until later… and Naruto and Sasuke are coming over later… we are going to train with Kakashi-sensei."

Ino could bear no more of this, seeing Sakura like this was horrible, and what she did next was awful. She slammed her fist into Sakura's stomach. The Haruno girl gave one quick gasp as the wind was knocked out of her, and then she slumped over into Ino's arms, unconscious.

* * *

At the Konoha hospital, both Tsunade and Ino watched as Sakura slept calmly in the bed, a monitor hooked up to watch for any changes in her heart rate, and an IV drip was pumping fluids into her system.

"What is wrong with her Hokage-sama?" Ino asked, the worry evident in her voice.

Tsunade sighed. "Physically, she is suffering from exhaustion amd malnutrition. We are detoxing her body as well, because the test show she had taken a number of pain medication. And we are checking for possible infection, since there are several cuts on her hands and legs. Those we can deal with easily. But her mental state is another matter entirely."

"She was not herself. That person I saw in her house was not Haruno Sakura. That was a shattered hollow shell of the girl I call my friend." Ino said, looking ready to cry.

Tsunade placed her hand on Ino's shoulder and smiled. "You are a good friend. I think that the stress of losing her other teammate, combined with the death of her mother, and suddenly living alone, was just too much for her to handle."

"She can't go back to that place Hokage-sama. If she does, it might-no, it _will_ kill her."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "She won't be, she is going to stay here at the hospital for a bit. I would say after a few weeks of rest and therapy, she will be back to her normal self. Then it is just a matter of finding her someone to live with, because she is clearly not stable enough to stay on her own."

"Doesn't she have any family?" Ino asked. "I remember her saying something about her family years ago, but I can't really remember it now."

"I checked her records when she first asked to live on her own weeks ago. Apparently she has no extended family in Konoha. Her parents came here during the Fourth's reign to open up a shop for the ninja before she was born. Her father was an unfortunate victim in the Kyuubi attack and you already know about her mother. I still can't find any leads to family beyond Konoha. For all basic purposes Sakura is all alone in the world. And I think that's what's killing her the most."

"Hokage-sama, if I can get my parent's permission, would you let Sakura live with us… please?" Ino asked and pleaded, wanting to do whatever she could to help out her friend.

"It's better than her living alone. I admire her desire to honor Naruto this way, but I'm not going to let _two_ of my genin die."

"How is putting herself thru this kind of hell honoring Naruto?" Ino asked. "I kept asking her why she actually wanted to live alone, and all she would tell me was she had a responsibility to do it. I thought she meant she just didn't want to leave familiar surroundings."

"I'm sure that's part of it, but the real reason is she did this for Naruto." Tsunade said. "Ino, you were told that Naruto lived completely alone, but do you really understand what that feels like? No family, no friends, no visitors, not even so much as a pet? For thirteen years? Can you really imagine what that kind of hell must feel like?"

Ino gasped. "She was trying to walk a mile in Naruto's shoes. See what he had to live with."

Tsunade nodded. "Exactly. It's one thing to say you can sympathize with what Naruto had to endure, but she knew the only real way to understand Naruto... was to sample the lifestyle he was forced into. Even if only for a little while. Only then could she really connect to her departed teammate and thus mourn him the way he deserved to be mourned."

Ino looked at the unconscious pinkette in a mixture of shock and awe. "It's only been a few weeks, and she's already this close to death. How the hell did Naruto survive like this for thirteen years?"

"Part of it was because Naruto didn't know anything else. Feel nothing but pain and eventually you get desensitized to it. But the main reason is because Naruto had enough hope to keep him going. Where that hope came from, I don't know, but Naruto wouldn't give up. Even if you hated the boy, you had to admire his ambition."

Ino looked remorseful. "I think there are some who would disagree with you there. Even now still hear the occasional anti-Naruto whisper, and... sadly back when he was alive I thought his ambition was nothing admirable, just him being too stupid to know he couldn't succeed in becoming Hokage."

Tsunade avoided chewing the regretful out. "If you saw him now, would you still say that?"

Ino thought it over. "In all honesty, I'd be glad to see him alive, but that doesn't mean he'd suddenly be more worthy of being Hokage to me Hokage-sama."

Tsunade looked away back to Sakura. "Just try not to be disrespectful to Naruto's memory around Sakura Ino. She's trying to understand him and her feelings about him, so the last thing she needs to hear is someone telling her what to think. Such behavior is what got her so confused and sad in the first place."


	21. Chapter 21

_'Where am I?' _Sakura asked herself as she slowly opened her eyes, blinded by a bright light. _'How did I get here?' _She tried opening her eyes again but used her arm to shield her eyes as they adjusted to the light. In the effort of moving it, she felt her arm connected to something.

"So you're awake. That's good." A strange voice said to her. It sounded like a woman closer to her mother's age than herself. Sakura's eyes continued to adjust until she could finally see her surroundings.

When she could see, she saw four people in her room. The only one of them she recognized was Ino, seated by the door looking at her with much concern. The other three were adults on the older end of their primes. "Who are all of you?" Sakura asked. In the corner of her eyes she could see she had an IV hooked up to her arm.

"We're some of the people who live in the Trashcan." A man told her. He had a slim face with grey eyes and black hair he kept mostly short but with a long low ponytail in the back. He wore an open grey jacket over a dark purple shirt and wore dark beige pants that had a green stripe going down each leg on the sides.

"Trashcan?" Sakura repeated.

"That's what we call our apartment complex. Fitting name for a rundown place most people felt they're too good to live near, let alone in." A woman answered. She had a youthful face despite her age with sparkling blue eyes and long brown hair with her bangs kept to her left by a clip shaped like a teal hibiscus flower. She wore a black tank top that covered her stomach but showed a small amount of cleavage, baggy red pants, and a green jacket tied to her waist with the sleeves.

"You would know it best as the place Naruto lived at." The last person there added. Sakura could tell right away this was the voice she heard when waking up. It belonged to a woman with green eyes, long wavy brown hair held back with a yellow ribbon, and a strong maternal look to her. She wore a simple lavender dress and kept a turquoise purse on her lap as she sat down. She smiled warmly at the pinkette. "We are some of the people who watched over Naruto as he grew up."

"You watched over Naruto?" Sakura asked.

The man nodded. "You didn't think a neglected child whom many in the village openly wished death upon could survive to his age without _any_ guidance did you? Total neglect when he was a baby would have killed him in a single day."

"I... I guess I didn't think about that." Sakura shamefully admitted.

"Yeah, funny how people don't really think about such things. I'm Kosuke." The man told her.

"I'm Tsuyuko, the super of the building." The blue-eyed woman added.

"And I'm Chikoro." The green-eyed woman said.

"It's nice to meet you. May I ask why you came to see me?" Sakura asked.

"Hokage-sama asked us to see you. The rest of us couldn't as they were all busy, but we three were available." Chikoro explained, confusing Sakura and Ino.

"I hear you're trying to honor our favorite blonde prankster by living on your own. Am I right?" Tsuyuko asked.

Sakura nodded.

"Not as easy as it looks, eh kid?" Kosuke asked as he leaned forward.

Tsuyuko gave him a stern look. "Not now Kosuke-san."

"My point remains. It's not easy to live alone, even when you're an adult like us. People are social by nature. You need at least some interaction with others to stay sane. And judging by how you look kid, you lost your sanity or came pretty damn close."

"Stop it or I will turn off the power to your room for the next week." Tsuyuko growled, and that shut Kosuke up.

Chikoro looked back at Sakura. "We understand what you're trying to do, but Naruto didn't by choice deprive himself of human contact or interaction. It's not healthy for you to do that, so please stop."

Sakura looked down. "But I... I don't think I can handle this like Naruto did. I mean, it's been about a month and... look at me. How did Naruto survive like this? Nobody should be forced to live like this."

"You're right, nobody should. And yet there were plenty of people that wanted him to suffer even worse." Tsuyuko stated. "You'd be surprised how often I had to repair damage to his place and sometimes the entire building because of people like that."

"Why didn't you request a D-rank mission those times?" Ino asked.

Tsuyuko gave the platinum blonde a cynical glare. "Because, more than several acts of vandalism were done by a ninja. Probably acting on orders or just for fun. So I'd be damned before I _paid_ any ninja to be in a situation where they'd have a clean shot at endangering Naruto like that. Hell I've _evicted_ people for endangering him."

Kosuke nodded. "No one got away with hurting Naruto on our watch."

"Acting on orders?" Sakura repeated in horror. "Someone actually ordered ninja to try and kill Naruto in the past?"

"You didn't really think _insults_ were the worst thing people did to him, did you?" Kosuke asked. "The Hokage may be the highest authority over ninja here, but she's not the only authority here. There are clan heads, Anbu leaders, jounin sensei, and patrol units just to name a few, who can give orders to ninja that rank below them." He counted the list on his fingers to emphasize his point. "More than a couple times some of these people have ordered their underlings to directly attack Naruto. And sometimes civilians paid some ninja to do it for them. That stopped quickly since the civilians began to see it as a waste of money when their hired goons kept failing."

"Fortunately Naruto was never completely unguarded, one way or another." Chikoro added. "And when he was hurt or depressed, we were there to pick up the pieces."

"And you were never scared of the kyuubi in him?" Ino asked, curiously.

"For the first year we were cautious, but not neglectful. You have to be pretty heartless to look at a lonely newborn baby and turn a blind eye to it." Chikoro answered, sounding a bit wistful as she was remembering caring for a baby Naruto. "We trusted the Fourth to know what he was doing, and the Third and Toad Sannin to verify the seal was sound, and that they would not put anything dangerous so close to ordinary people. After the first year, we decided the seal was indeed doing it's job and he had not done anything uncharacteristic of a baby. From there, we knew he was just a child and nothing more. But for some reason, almost everyone else refused to see it that way."

"Which is monumentally stupid if you think about it." Tsuyuko stated. "I mean, I understand being afraid in the beginning about the fox taking over or escaping. But after a few years you'd think the public would have taken the hint that the fox wasn't going anywhere or doing anything."

"I... I don't think people _wanted_ to take the hint." Sakura offered. "Like my mother. She didn't know anything about Naruto and didn't want to know anything about him. She just wanted to hate him, and would probably believe anything as long as it allowed her to."

"Why?" Ino asked. "I mean, nobody hates someone without a reason. Your mother did have to have one even if it was faulty."

"I tried to find that out last time I saw her. I heard her go off on Naruto like he was evil incarnate, no matter what I said to prove her wrong. After a while I realized she didn't want to see reason. She had spent so long thinking of Naruto as a monster that she no longer could think of him as anything else. She had made up her mind and wouldn't consider the idea she was wrong. It sickened me."

"Not to be rude Sakura, but part of what I see of your behavior sickens me." Ino carefully stated, drawing everyone's attention. "I admit I don't know the entire story, but based on what I _do_ know and see, I can't understand why you feel so bad for Naruto. I know he was your teammate and maybe he became a bit of a friend to you over time, but destroying your life like this doesn't make sense to me. You never tried anything like this for Sasuke, so why Naruto? The boy you once told me you hated simply because he _wasn't_ Sasuke."

That reminded Sakura of something she was really not proud of. Back about a year before they graduated and Naruto was still trying to regain his lost friendship with the pinkette, she had gone off on him and hit him hard enough that he lost one of his baby teeth from it. Ino saw it and even though she didn't care much for Naruto if at all, she did admit Sakura was being unnecessarily cruel to a boy who was just trying to be nice. And not only that, but a boy Sakura herself used to be nice to a few years earlier. So Ino curiously asked why Sakura hit Naruto so easily and guiltlessly. Her answer? He wasn't Sasuke.

At the time neither girl thought anything of it, as if that reason alone more than justified why Naruto was the class pariah and Sakura's punching bag. Naruto was not the popular boy, the one who never failed a test, the one liked around school or even town. He was the person everyone either pretended didn't exist or wished would just go away, and ultimately it became too easy, even to the point of first response, to disregard his basic human rights as if they weren't worth the energy it took to think them over if you did.

"That's the problem Ino." Sakura made herself say. "Except for Hinata, Tenten, these folks, and a few others, we all proved to be bigger monsters than the very thing we feared. And people like you and I are even worse because we didn't even know why all that hate and hostility was aimed at him and we never once questioned if it was deserved. And because of that, we started acting like as long as Naruto was the victim, then it didn't really matter _what_ happened to him. Adults hitting him in broad daylight, things stolen from him, even people vandalizing his house, all of it criminal acts worthy of arrest and we couldn't care less about it all only because _he_ was the one it was all done to. When we hear about complete strangers in other countries suffering the same way we feel bad and want it to stop, but someone close to us we actually know and talk to suffers that way, and we act like it's no big deal at all? I think there's a level in Hell specifically reserved for people like us."

Ino was stunned and didn't know what to say, but Tsuyuko did. "What you've been doing isn't just as a sort of memorial to Naruto is it? This is a form of self-punishment for the crimes you believe you've committed against him."

Sakura hung her head, knowing everyone was giving her expectant looks but she was unable to meet their gazes. "Y-y-yes, you could say that."

"Sakura, don't you think you're taking it a bit too far?" Ino asked. "I mean, Naruto wouldn't want to see you like this. He wouldn't want you to make yourself suffer. I know you feel bad for him but what's done is done and this will not change that."

Sakura gave the platinum blonde a dead but hurt look. A look that said 'I'm offended' but contained no anger. "Ino, right now you just proved my point. You say 'what's done is done' like it doesn't matter. Like what Naruto experienced is an unpleasant thought but that's all it is. An unpleasant thought. And all because he's the one who experienced it. You alerted Hokage-sama over me, but would you have done the same for Naruto?"

Ino didn't respond, and that was all the answer Sakura needed. "I've only had a small sample of Naruto's lifestyle, and look what happened to me. He had to deal with all that and so much more. Probably even stuff I can't even imagine. Coming home to an empty house you know will never be full. Having to maintain everything by yourself, even if you don't know how to. Not having a shoulder to cry on or a warm comforter when you got sad or scared or lonely. Having nothing but your own will and determination to make you keep going on living. All that, I only sampled for a few weeks, and Naruto... Naruto..."

She started shedding tears little by little as she spoke, but by the time she got to the end, her tears were flowing stronger and her body was shaking. The pinkette pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her eyes into her knees as she unleashed a heartbreaking sob. Ino got up to rush to her side, but Chikoro shook her head not to, so Ino gave her a questioning expression.

"She's doing exactly what she really wants to." Chikoro whispered. "Up until now, she's likely been crying for Naruto out of guilt for her own actions and neglect. But right now, having experienced his suffering, she is truly mourning his leaving, not her own mistakes. Let her do this. Let her grieve for her friend as she wanted to."

Ino silently 'ahhed' and sat back down. While she still felt bad for her friend, she also felt a little relieved for her too, now that Sakura could start to handle her loss and recover from it.

* * *

Later that afternoon Sakura fell sound asleep, looking more comfortable than she had been in weeks, while her guests left to give her some quiet. Kosuke, Tsuyuko, and Chikoro headed home, but Ino didn't just yet. She had too much on her mind to just go home right away.

With that decided, Ino headed for Tenten's family forge and shop. It wasn't that hard to find since it was one of the more popular places for young ninja to shop for weaponry. The front for the place was a two story building, with the shop on the ground level and a living space on the second floor, not uncommon in Konoha. Behind this was a forge and a throwing range.

Since the shop had its open sign on display, Ino walked in. At the counter was a middle-aged woman with long dark brown almost chocolate-colored hair seated reading a book. She wore thin-framed glasses, likely reading glasses, that made her dark brown eyes stand out. She wore a shirt decorated with pink and white horizontal stripes, almost like a candy cane, and she wore a silver bracelet on her left wrist that looked like a kunai bent to form a loop with the tip pointed into the hole at the end of the handle. Not only that, she had a clip by her left ear holding her hair out of her face that looked like a six-pointed shuriken.

When the door opened a bell went off and the woman looked up at the newcomer. She saw the blonde girl and smiled, putting her book down. "Welcome to Higurashi Weapons. Pre-arranged or self-made?"

"Huh?" Ino asked, completely lost by the question. Now that the woman was looking at her, she could see an identical yet inverted silver kunai bracelet on the right wrist and a shuriken hair clip by her right ear too.

"Most customers either want an already prepared custom set of weapons, or they prefer to handle that part themselves from sampling the shelves. So we're in the habit of asking which they came for to make it easier for them."

"Sorry, but I'm not here to shop. I'm actually wondering if Tenten is here."

"Oh, sorry but my daughter's out with her team at the moment. I'm not sure when she'll be back." The woman replied.

"Okay, thank you for-" Ino started, but stopped when she noticed the older woman looking at a buzzing bee that had gotten into the store. Tenten's mother reached under the counter, brought out a senbon, and threw it towards the insect. The needle skewered it and impaled in on one of the wooden shelves.

"Damn bees. I just know there's a hive somewhere nearby on the neighbor's property. If only they'd get back and do something about it."

Ino was momentarily speechless. "Wow that was incredible. You definitely are Tenten's mother."

"Thanks, but Tenten was adopted, not born from me. And she actually used to have terrible aim."

"On yeah, I remember her saying something about that." Ino commented. "She said Uzumaki Naruto had something to do with her... getting... better?" After mentioning Naruto's name, the Yamanaka heiress saw the older woman look sad, almost remorseful. "You were one of those that cared for him, weren't you?" She asked sympathetically.

Tenten's mother frowned a bit. "Are you one of those that cheered when he died?" Her head went back under the counter.

"No! I didn't cheer at all!" Ino defended, making the shopkeeper's hand stop. "I didn't really know Naruto that well, and that's kind of why I want to see Tenten. I... I want to know more about him."

"Why?"

Right then, Ino found herself struggling to answer that. _'Why exactly do I want to know more about Naruto? Is it just so I can help Sakura? Is it because I want to prove Kiba wrong and I'm not disregarding his death? No, those can't be true. And yet, right now I can't really think of a good reason.'_ Not wanting to make this woman wait any longer, she cleared her throat. "Is there anything wrong in wanting to know more about a fallen comrade?"

"Only if you never bothered to want to know anything about him when he was alive." Tenten's mother replied, surprising the platinum blonde. "You ever hear the phrase 'You never know what you have until it's gone'? When that applies to people, and more than a few times it does, I personally feel it's rather offensive to wait until they're gone to truly appreciate what they were to you. Just shows how some people take others for granted."

"I didn't take Naruto for granted! I-" Ino defended, but quickly cut herself off before she said something in the heat of the moment.

Tenten's mother looked at her curiously. "You what?"

Ino tried to look away, look at anything but those scrutinizing eyes that could easily see her shame. "I didn't take Naruto for granted. But I... I..." Her throat suddenly felt dry, but she forced herself to continue. "I never really knew anything about him, good or bad. I was very quick to dismiss anything and everything about him, like he wasn't important enough to remember let alone know. Now I want to know more about him."

"What changed?" The shopkeeper asked. "What made you want to learn _now_?"

"My friends have all been mourning him these past three weeks, some more than others, but I... I haven't. I haven't because I can't. I didn't know Naruto well enough to really cry for him. Sure, I feel sad he died, I really do, but when I look at others, and listen to what they say about him, I feel like what I'm doing isn't enough."

Now Tenten's mother seemed to frown. "Not to be rude, but what I'm hearing is that you don't want to be seen as disrespectful among your peers. You've seen your friends crying for him but you can't, and you're afraid that makes you look heartless so you're hoping learning more will compensate and redeem you."

"No, you're wrong. I'm not doing this for that." Ino countered.

"Then why? What's the real reason?"

"I want to pay my respects to him, the right way. But I can't do that with what little I already know. If I did it would be insulting to his memory. Please help me." Ino pleaded.

Tenten's mother was silent, looking at the young mindwalker as if she was studying her. As if she was trying to determine if this girl was worth helping. And then she smiled. "Alright, I will help you. But first you have to do something for me."

"What? Anything, I will do it."

"You have to buy something. Might I suggest kunai? We are having a two-for-one special for today only."

Ino smiled.

* * *

Teuchi looked up from the vegetables he was chopping. He just stared at Naruto's usual spot and sighed sadly. _'5pm and again we're empty. It still doesn't feel right.'_

He missed the boy. Naruto had been his favorite and most regular customer. Naruto had always come to Ichiraku's Ramen Shop every day at 5pm on the dot, and would always order two bowls of beef ramen, sometimes more if he could afford it, but never less. And even after his death the cook was still making the order automatically, as if expecting the boy to suddenly appear. It would take him a while to fall out of the habit, and deep down, Teuchi dreaded the day that happened. It would be basically giving up on any hope Naruto was still alive out there, somewhere, trying to get home.

_'We lost more than a customer, we lost a part of our lives.'_ The old man sighed again and returned to his vegetable chopping.

It was then that his daughter Ayame walked in. "Hey Dad, guess what I got?" She said happily. This was a surprise since Ayame had not smiled since she heard of Naruto's death. In fact, when she heard a civilian customer talk about him obscenely, she actually took a cleaver and chopped off his fingers right on the spot before he could react. The customer tried to get her arrested, but with no witnesses and Tsunade already pissed at anti-Naruto people, the Hokage dropped the case and told the fingerless bastard she could claim he was sexually harassing a woman who simply defended herself. Without witnesses or surveillance footage, it was just his word versus Ayame's after all. Not enough to convict anyone.

"Hmm, a new worker to help run the shop so I can take a vacation?" He said with a laugh.

Ayame giggled and rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Dad, a herd of wild horses could not drag you away from this shop."

"You're right, so what did you get sweetheart?"

Ayame reached into her pocket, withdrew something, and showed it to her father. Teuchi immediately smiled happily and nodded.

Several minutes later, drilled into the counter above the middle stool and by the mark left in the wood from Ayame's cleaver, was a small plaque that read

**'Permanently Reserved for Uzumaki Naruto'**

**'Our Best Customer'**


	22. Chapter 22

"So how was the mission?" Mei asked, seated at her desk.

"It was successful to say the least." Kasumi told the Mizukage. "We got to our destination undetected and observed the area, only to find the threat was something we were ill-fit to fight. I tried to get us away and back to tell you the proper situation, but we were intercepted."

"Intercepted?" Mei repeated.

Kasumi nodded. "Apparently there was a minor amount of Yakuza activity in the area. I immediately tried to get us out of there, as we were not prepared for a Yakuza-level threat, but the threat ambushed us. We were forced to fight to defend ourselves."

Mei smiled. "You obviously did well considering you three are here to tell me about it."

"It wasn't easy. There were two of them, both easily jounin in strength, and we had to split up to keep them from attacking together." Kasumi continued. "The one I faced was a missing nin from Suna, who used Suna's famous puppetry jutsu on human skeletons. She's listed in the bingo book as Beniko the Corpse Herder."

Mei reached for a bingo book in her desk to see what it said about this kunoichi. "And the other?"

"My students handled him so I'll let them tell you." Kasumi replied.

Shiori stepped forward. "This guy was the freakiest person I've ever seen. He looked like something right out of a horror movie. Worst part was every time we landed a hit on him he could regenerate from it thanks to what I assume was a medical jutsu. Also, he was the one who killed my old teammate."

Mei's eyes widened. "I suspected there was a possibility he would be there. That's why I sent your team, to give your group a sense of closure on the matter. Did you kill him this time?"

Shiori nodded. "Yes, and we retrieved Hikaru-kun's sword. Apparently Naruto can use it, so we decided to let him hold onto it for now."

"Oh he can can he?" Mei asked and Naruto nodded. "That's good, considering your squad is part of Division Three. You were bound to need kenjutsu lessons sooner or later."

"Since you mention it Mizukage-sama, I'd like permission for Naruto-kun to receive additional help from my old mentor." Kasumi added.

Mei looked intrigued. "I'll allow it, though this better not interfere with normal training."

"It won't, I assure you."

"So how did you fight two Yakuza-employed ninja and survive?" Mei asked. The Yakuza were known not to employ just anyone. In fact, going off rumor alone one would say they employed ninja worthy of being in the Akatsuki.

"A lot of it had to do with Naruto-kun." Kasumi admitted, intriguing Mei. "During his fight, he used some strange skill we have not seen before, and apparently he is having a hard time repeating its performance. My guess is it was a subconscious jutsu he used in the heat of the moment but still cannot consciously remember. With it he was able to weaken the enemy and retrieve Hikaru-kun's stolen sword, and because Naruto-kun shares the same elemental affinity he was able to make some of the sword's tricks work and wound the enemy further until Shiori-san could get in and finish him off."

Mei smiled at Naruto, a genuine smile rather than a frightening one. "Great job Naruto. You must show me this when we both have the time."

"Yes Lady Mizukage." He said with a small bow.

"I was able to fend off the second enemy in the meantime but she almost got the best of me." Kasumi continued. "Soon Shiori-san and Naruto-kun came to my defense and gave her a nasty wound. According to Shiori-san, the second enemy healed themselves in an unexplained way and rather than continue the fight chose to flee. After a short time to recover our own energy we addressed the one behind the whole thing and subdued him. The Lightning Daimyo was quite grateful."

"I can imagine. Good work everyone. This will help relations between our countries greatly." Mei said, pleased.

"Mizukage-sama, there is one more thing you should know." Kasumi added. "On our way back we ran into someone. Someone you told us all to be on lookout for."

"Which one? I have many listed as ones to be on alert for." She asked.

Kasumi briefly looked like she was having difficulty finding the right words to use here. "For personal reasons, he has declined actually entering the village with us. But we have convinced him to at least wait outside the village for the time being. He agreed to speak with you but only as long as your only escorts are us. Especially Naruto-kun."

"Naruto?" Mei asked, confused.

Kasumi nodded. "This person claims to have a sort of kinship with Naruto-kun. I doubt he's a relative since they look nothing alike. But he says they're something there. I was hoping you would understand that better than I do once you actually see him."

Mei thought it over a bit and sighed. "I might as well. Good excuse as any to get away from this paperwork."

"Why not just use clones to help you out?" Naruto asked.

Mei groaned. "Elemental clones can't do the job as well. Just leaves me unaware of what they approved of and me needing to double-check to verify."

"What about shadow clones? I apparently gain my clone's memories so if you use shadow clones they can still help you on the job." Naruto added.

Mei looked surprised, unaware of that perk of Konoha's secret clone jutsu. "Is this true?" The whiskered blonde nodded, making her smile. "Naruto, if you can teach me how to use that jutsu, I'll owe you a big favor of your choice; within reason of course."

"Sure. I suppose." He said.

Now Mei looked really happy. "But first, show me this mystery fellow."

As if on command, the door to her office opened and, still dressed in his loose fitting blue robe, was Utakata. Though it had been several years since his sudden disappearance from the village, his appearance was unchanged. He appeared to have lost a bit of weight and his skin looked a shade paler, but aside from that he looked his usual casual self.

"I thought you were waiting outside Kiri?" Kasumi asked, not expecting him to be here right now.

The jinchuuriki shrugged. "I got bored." He then bowed his head slightly. "Lady Mizukage."

Mei did not say anything for a moment, she simply stared at the man whom she had thought to be dead. Finally, after an awkward amount of silence. "Kasumi, you and your team are dismissed."

Kasumi, Shiori, and Naruto bowed and then filed out of the room, leaving the two alone.

Utakata stared at the Mizukage with his golden eyes. "So, do men still flee from the Bloody Red Mei?"

That was the name Mei had been called during the revolution against Yagura's regime, earned after having killed so many of the enemy forces that her entire body had been stained with their blood. Enough blood was on her to make her look like a poorly made blood clone.

Mei simply smiled and said in her sweetest voice "Sit down before I kill you."

Utakata took a seat in front of her desk, bt unlike anyone else he showed no fear in obeying her. The two of them sat in total silence, simply staring at each for a few minutes. Utakata then actually pulled out his pipe and began to blow bubbles, watching as they floated into the air and popped.

"You're still doing that?" Mei asked.

"It keeps me calm and under control. Besides, no one was talking." Utakata stated emptily.

"Are you going to make me ask where you have been and why you left? Or do you want to tell me?"

The dark-haired man blew a few more bubbles. "And if I choose to not speak at all on the subject, what happens?"

"Do you really want to find out?" Mei asked, her smile grew an inch.

The container for the six-tailed slug put away his bubble pipe first before speaking. "I abandoned the village. I became a missing-nin."

"Why?"

Utakata shrugged his slim shoulders. "I was tired."

"That is a horrible excuse. You helped us in the fight to free this village from tyranny and then you suddenly abandoned us. Because you were tired?"

"I have a hundred excuses if you want to hear them."

"No, I want the truth."

"Every lie has a splinter of the truth in it. One merely has to look underneath the veil to see it."

"Okay, then at least tell me the reason why you came back now." The Mizukage insisted.

"That reason is too difficult to summarize." The bubble-blower replied.

-Flashback-

_They were staying at an inn for the night in Land of Lightning. The ferry back to Kiri would not arrive until tomorrow morning, and they saw no reason to camp out when they could afford an inn room._

_Shiori, Naruto, and Kasumi were sitting on the floor of the room around the table, having just finished off their meal. Utakata however was sitting outside, gently blow bubbles from his pipe as he stared out at the moon._

_There had been a rather awkward silence for a while now. The missing Kiri nin had not said a word since he had met up with them earlier that day. He simply followed them, like a curious stray animal._

_When Kasumi had enough of this, she finally stood up and walked over to the fugitive. "Utakata-san, where have you been all of this time? There were reports that said you were killed on your mission away."_

_Utakata took the pipe away from his lips and he spoke, but not to answer Kasumi's question. __"You boy, come here."_

_"My name is not 'boy'. It is Naruto." The blonde said, not liking how rude this guy was being to his sensei._

_"The statement remains unchanged, come here please." He said as he put his bubble pipe into his robes._

_Naruto got up from the floor, walked over, and stood next to Kasumi._

_Utakata then turned his head lazily and stared at Naruto with his golden eyes. "You and I are the same."_

_"How? Are you my relative?" Naruto asked._

_"No, we are not bound by blood. What binds us... is our companions."_

_Naruto looked confused. "You know Kasumi-sensei and Shiori?"_

_Utakata shook his head. "Not those companions. Our personal companions."_

_"What are you talking about?" Shiori asked._

_Naruto thought it over, but he got it quickly. "Wait, you mean you...?"_

_Utakata nodded. "Yes, I have one too. I'm surprised to run into another of my kind, especially one so much younger."_

_"So you do know Naruto-kun?" Kasumi asked._

_"I have never met the young man before today, but I could easily sense his... unusual chakra shall we say."_

_"Can you teach me how to use it better?" Naruto asked._

_Utakata looked like he just ate something nasty. "Personally I'd rather not. And I'd prefer not to return to Kiri either. But on the other hand, I'd rather not see a repeat of Yagura and I suspect the current Mizukage would be lenient to my case. So..." He paused and closed his eyes, looking like he was deeply contemplating his options. After a moment, he opened them again. "It's not like I've got nothing better to do. So sure, why not? But under one condition."_

_"Name it." Naruto said._

_"Don't ever, EVER refer to me as sensei or master. ANYTHING but that."_

_"O... kay?" Naruto replied._

_"Perfect. We'll all head home tomorrow then." Kasumi stated cheerfully, effectively ending the conversation._

-End Flashback-

* * *

"So where are we going?" Naruto asked as he followed behind Kasumi and Shiori.

Shiori groaned. "Weren't you listening in the Mizukage office?"

"Only for half of it, the other half I was kind of focused on getting lunch."

Kasumi smiled. "We will get some food later Naruto, but first we have to go talk to Hirato Kaji."

"Who is Hirato Kaji?" Naruto asked, completely confused. Both Kasumi and Shiori stopped dead in their tracks and spun around to stare at Naruto with such intensity that he felt scared. "Hey, my memory's full of holes so don't get mad if something's a blank to me."

Shiori looked at her sensei. "Didn't you ever tell him?"

Kasumi sighed. "No, I guess that it just slipped my mind with all that was already going on."

"Let me tell him, let me tell him, pleeease." Shiori asked, nearly begging.

Kasumi looked over her shoulder and saw that they were actually outside a decent-looking restaurant.

"Alright, let's get some lunch and you can tell him."

They walked into the restaurant, took their seats and placed their orders, then Shiori looked at Naruto and smirked. "So you want to know who Kaji-sama is?" She asked.

"Yes, I want to know already." Naruto said, growing irritated about being kept in the dark.

"He is the single greatest swordsman in all of Kiri." Shiori said, sounding like a fan-girl now. "Kaji-sama is a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and he has actually trained all of the members of the Seven, past and current." She said in a dreamy voice.

Naruto was impressed. "Really?"

Kasumi nodded. "Yes Naruto, Kaji-sama used to be my sensei when I was your age. He taught me all I know about swordsmanship. He taught Shiori a little too."

Shiori nodded. "He is amazing, he has nearly god-like speed. He was even offered the chance to become the Mizukage."

Naruto was definitely interested now. "And this is the guy who is going to teach me how to be a swordsman?"

Kasumi smiled, enjoying that eager look in Naruto's eye. "Yes, I am sure he would be happy to take you on as a student."

"Awesome." Naruto said.

* * *

Hirato Kaji was not exactly as Naruto expected him to be. Based on how Kasumi had described him, Naruto had been envisioning some sort of battle-hardened warrior in his prime.

Instead what he was looking at was a very old man.

Hirato Kaji looked to be around a hundred years old. Maybe even older. His face was filled with wrinkled lines, his hair, what was left of it, was pure white without a single indication it was once been another color, further proof of his age.

He was dressed in a red robe, which hid his frail body. Naruto noticed how swollen his knuckles were, a sign of arthritis. A medallion hung around his neck, it was made of wood and had a symbol carved into it. But the most noticeable feature about him, was the bandana that covered his face. It was made out of red fabric and had the Kiri seal sewn in the middle of it, like a hitai-ate without the metal plate.

The old man was sitting on the patio of a dojo on the outer edge of Kiri's boundaries, a cup of tea in his hands and his head drooped down. Next to him was a cane that looked like it was made from bamboo It looked like he was sleeping… or maybe dead.

Kasumi held up her hand, and both her students came to a halt. She then slowly approached Kaji. As she drew closer to him, she silently withdrew a kunai from her pouch. She was only an arms length from him when suddenly faster then any of them could see, the cane was in Kaji's hand and the end pressed right under Kasumi's neck.

The old man lifted up his head and smiled, his teeth unlike the rest of him looked very healthy and white. "Now Kasumi-chan, is that anyway to say hello to your master?" He said, his voice surprisingly smooth and strong.

Kasumi sighed and remained where she was as she put the kunai back in her pouch. "Did you hear me come?"

Kaji chuckled. "Oh no, I could smell that horrid bath soup of yours the moment you stepped foot onto my property. Honestly girl, you should change to lavender." He said as he removed his cane tip from Kasumi's throat.

The elder set his cane down and then smiled again. "Shiori-chan, don't be so silent. Speak up and make your obvious presence known."

Shiori laughed. "It is good to see you're still as alert as ever Sensei." She called over to the man.

"Hmph, the only time a student will ever sneak up on me is when I am dead. Now who else is with you? I don't recall ever hearing a foot step like his, or smell of ramen and seawater."

Both Shiori and Kasumi stood aside and the blonde stepped forward. "I am Naruto… sir."

Kaji leaned forward, as if trying to see Naruto even though his eyes were covered. "Naruto who? What's your family's name?"

"I don't know sir." Naruto stated.

"He has amnesia Kaji-sama." Kasumi told her old master. "He was found on the beach with no memories of his past."

Kaji took another sip from his cup. "Is that so? Hmmm.. a child brought to Kiri by the sea. Very interesting. Almost sounds poetic, or maybe prophetic." He then set his cup down. "So what brings you three to my dojo?"

"Several things Kaji-sama." Kasumi said. "The first is…" She withdrew a scroll, opening it and performing a few hand signs, the shattered remains of her sword appeared. She picked up the hilt of her blade first. "During my last battle… my sword was broken." She said solemnly.

Kaji held out his hand and Kasumi gently placed it in his palm. The old man grasped the hilt tightly, he then used his free hand to run a finger down the part of the blade that had remained unbroken. "Hmmm, it's lighter, the metal has been altered. It's so flimsy now it might as well be used as a butter knife."

"My enemy used a jutsu which had the ability to change the structure of one mineral and turn it into that of another."

"You have all the pieces?" Kaji asked

"Yes, I was able to collect them all. Kaji-sama, could you reforge my sword?" She asked, with hope in her voice.

Kaji frowned deeply and then turned his head towards the sound of Kasumi's voice. "Reforge your sword? A sword is as unique as an individual, no two can ever be the same. Each one has a life, and you allowed the life of your sword to be ended. I do not think you deserve another sword."

Kasumi's face fell and she lowered her head.

Naruto could no longer keep his silence. "Hey that is not fair!" He shouted.

Both Kasumi and Shiori stared at Naruto with horror on their faces.

"Shut up." Shiori hissed in a warning volume.

"No I won't. It's not Kasumi-sensei's fault her sword got broken. She fought hard and deserves to get it fixed."

"Naruto-kun, hold your tongue." Kasumi told her student and seemed ready to apologize to Kaji when the old man started to laugh loudly.

"Oh really? She deserves to have it fixed? And tell me boy, what are you going to do about it if I don't?"

"I will fight you." Naruto challenged.

"Naruto don't you-" Shiori almost ordered, but Kasumi held up her hand to silence the redhead. She wanted to see what would happen.

Kaji smiled. He placed the hilt of the broken blade in between the belt of his robe. And then he grasped his cane and slowly stood up from the ground.

"You will fight me eh? Hmm... so if you win then I suppose I have to fix Kasumi-chan's blade. And if I win…." He smirked slightly.

Naruto placed a hand on his newly gotten sword. "Do you accept?"

Kaji leaned forward. "Oh I accept, in fact, let's look each other eye to eye." He then reached up and removed the bandanna that covered his eyes.

Naruto felt a small shiver run down his spine at what he saw. There was a horrible X shaped scar on the old mans face. With a line going over each of his eyes and then meeting at the top of his nose; it looked like the mark had been burned there. The old man then opened his eyes, revealing them to be white and dead looking.

Naruto had just challenged a blind swordsman.

* * *

"You want to what?" Mei asked.

Utakata absently looked through the collection of books and scrolls that were on Mei's shelves. He did not bother to turn around when he answered her.

"I want to teach that blonde kid to harness his bijuu power." He said as he picked up a thick green book, flipped through it, put it away and moved on. "Believe me, it was not my idea. But since I am the only person available to give him such guidance I might as well try it."

"And are you sure you are capable of undertaking such a task?" Mei asked with skepticism.

"Can you think of anyone better, old woman?" He said as he looked over his shoulder and gazed at her with a bored and fearless look in his eyes despite the clear level of anger and annoyance that was on Mei's face.

"Only you would have the ball's to say that to my face." The Mizukage growled.

Utakata continued to browse the literature. "Despite what you might think, I have not been spending the last few years slacking off and indulging in a hedonistic lifestyle. I have been training, and I have learned to harness the power of my tailed beast."

"So you want to take Naruto on as your student?"

Utakata shook his head. "I already told you a long time ago that I would never become a sensei. I am simply going to show him a few tricks, drop hints when necessary, and push him in the right direction. He is on his own for the rest." He picked up a scroll, held it in his hand for a moment, then put it back down.

"Are you not even slightly curious on who he is? You clearly know he is not of Kiri."

"His place of origin has zero impact on his ability to master the power that is sealed within him. If it did I would ask, but since it does not I don't care. As to whom he is, his name is Naruto, he is a ninja, and he is blonde. I don't need to know anything else nor want too."

"You are as cold and as distant as ever." Mei said as she leaned forward.

Utakata finally seemed to find what he was looking for. It was a small blue book, which he opened and read the first page of. Afterwards he then slid it into the sleeve of his robe before turning around. "I am what they made me, argue about the results with someone else." He said nonchalantly.

"Someday, someone will get through that nonchalant exterior of yours Bubble Boy." Mei told him.

Utakata shrugged and opened the door to walk out. He gasped and backed away as if frightened, and Mei just had to see this. What she saw was a young girl with dark blonde hair reaching to her shoulders wearing a violet top with white borders and a black skirt over black shorts. Her height implied she was about fourteen years old yet her well-developed figure made her look more mature than that.

She smiled at Utakata. "You can't escape me that easily Sensei."


	23. Chapter 23

Outside the dojo on the training ground, there was one octagonal section that was made of stone and raised up a level, approximately a meter high with two staircases on opposing ends. This was the dueling section, where students could practice their sword skills against each other. If one was knocked off the platform then they had lost, hence the lack of any guard rails or ropes.

On one side Naruto stood and on the other was Kaji, both his hands resting on his cane. Observing from the sides was Kasumi and Shiori, both of them seemed very worried… for Naruto.

"So what are the rules?" Naruto asked

Kaji smiled. "It is very simple, you draw your sword and try to attack me. If you are able to knock me off the platform then you win. But, if I knock you off the platform then I win."

"But I don't see a sword on you. How is that a fair fight?" Naruto asked.

"Kid, I make it a point not to draw my sword unless it's a dire situation. This cane should be more than adequate for you." Kaji answered, twirling his cane in his hand as he said that.

"I really don't want to hurt you." Naruto said.

Kaji continued to smile. "I doubt you could even if you did want to, when you have such a foolish woman for a sensei."

"THAT'S IT!" Naruto shouted, not wanting anyone to talk about his sensei like that. He unsheathed his sword and charged at the old man.

"Too impulsive." Kaji mentioned as he calmly lifted his cane and blocked the sword with it.

The metal clashed with the wood, and instead of slicing cleanly through it, the wood did not even chip or crack.

"How can a wooden cane stop a sword?" Naruto asked.

"Trust me kid, that is far from the most unusual thing you will see in your lifetime. I myself once saw a man defeat his enemies using a giant clam."

Naruto looked more than confused. "A clam? How is that even possible?"

"That's not the point. The point is a well-trained shinobi can do many things and you shouldn't assume what their limits and abilities are. Tell me boy, when you look at me what level do you think I should be at?"

Naruto looked the man over a second time before answering that. "To be honest, even though Kasumi-sensei and Shiori say you're a powerful man, all I see is an old man who could keel over any second."

Right away Kaji held up his hand to stop any objections coming from the aforementioned women. "Do not contradict him ladies. Let him see for himself the accuracy of his claim." He then put his hand down. "Oh, and boy, if you want to impress me, don't turn this match into a debate. We're here to fight, not chit-chat."

Naruto tightened his grip on his sword. "Fine." He tried again to hit Kaji again, not wanting to kill him or hurt him too badly, but a grazing hit would at least prove he was not without skill and that's what he wanted to prove.

Kaji surprised him by effectively blocking all his strikes with his cane. Each and every one. Naruto could not see how it was possible, and chose to back away to analyze the situation.

"What's the matter? Done already?" Kaji taunted.

"Just getting my bearings. I'm still new at this." He told the old man.

Kaji shrugged. "Could have fooled me." Even though it didn't sound sarcastic, Naruto knew it was.

_'I wish I could use taijutsu here, I'd win easily. But he's trying to see what I can do with kenjutsu. Right now I wish Kasumi-sensei had more time on our trip back to teach me. Just remember what she did tell me.'_

Naruto glanced at his sword, the words of his sensei echoing in his mind for a brief moment.

_'Kenjutsu is the way of the sword Naruto, but there's so much more to it. It is an art, a masterful fighting style. Any idiot can swing a stick around, but only an expert can make a sword into a weapon. Now, a sword must be handled with care and used with grace. In taijutsu you're allowed to go a bit... berserk, but in kenjutsu that's the last thing you want to do. Being careless will damage the sword or result in it hurting you instead of your target.'_

One thing Naruto had learned for sure being in Kirigakure was that they held their weapons in high regard. And given what he had seen of Kasumi's, Shiori's, and now his own, he couldn't blame them.

_'This sword, the Kamitsuki, is one that requires a lot of focus and practice to bring out it's potential. Like my own, the Bakupiri, it reacts to the wielder's chakra to perform a sort of kenjutsu-ninjutsu combination attack. So be very careful not to place your chakra into it needlessly. When we get back and my sword is repaired, I'll show you how to use your sword that way.'_

The problem was at this point all Naruto did know what to do with a sword was swing and cut. _'All I can hope for is I can get thru a gap in his defense. But being a blind swordsman he should be used to people trying that. What do I do?'_

"Hurry up boy I'm not getting any younger." Kaji taunted.

Naruto right then looked like he got an idea. Smirking and flexing his fingers without letting go of his sword, he tried walking towards Kaji, stepping as silently as possible on each step.

"What is he doing?" Shiori whispered to her sensei.

"I think he's trying to sneak up on him." Kasumi whispered back.

"Oh, like nobody's ever tried that before." Shiori replied sarcastically.

"Look who's talking. Now hush." Kasumi said firmly, reminding her kunoichi student of her own first experience with Kenji.

As Naruto stepped forward with all the care and stealth he could manage, he saw Kaji look left and right, as if trying to track him.

"Kasumi, he's still on the platform right?" He called out.

"Trust me Kaji-sama, you would know if he wasn't." The jounin told him.

_'Good, it's working. He doesn't know where I am.'_ Naruto thought, proud of himself. He stopped then coiled his legs, showing he was getting ready to strike. He turned his sword around, so the end of the handle was facing forward instead of the point of the blade.

_'Why is he holding it like that?'_ Kasumi asked herself.

She got her answer when Naruto made his move. The whiskered blonde sprang forward and refrained from shouting, but he was definitely attempting to attack.

Kaji quickly sensed the subtle sounds of his pounce and the air resistance and turned towards him. He raised his cane to block, which he did, but he blocked Naruto's body rather than his weapon. Naruto's movement forward was halted but his arms weren't restrained, so he extended his right hand forward and hit under the older man's collar bone with the butt of his sword before he had to back away.

Kaji covered the point of impact with his hand for a moment. _'He actually made contact with me. Had that been a true attack he would have pierced the gaps between my bones and skewered my lung and aorta if not heart.'_ He returned his hand to his cane. _'Of course I also would have cut him in half had I been truly fighting him, but he still would have killed me too. His style is juvenile but he is not without skill.'_

"Not bad you whippersnapper. But not good enough." He told him, covering his awe.

"At least I've got the courage to attack instead of just block." Naruto countered.

"I'm trying to evaluate you, not defeat you boy. I'm testing your skills not your bravery. Remember that."

"Maybe you'd do better if you didn't just stand there." The blonde argued.

Kaji tightened his grip. "You want a fight? Fine boy. Watch this." Lifting and holding his cane just like a sword, Kaji ran towards him, actually ran, and swung at his test subject.

Naruto dodged and blocked in surprise, and the old man kept going and changing the angle of his strikes. _'How is he this fast? Shouldn't he barely be able to stand without his cane holding him up? Or is that a ruse?'_ During a gap in attacks Naruto took the chance to strike back and made a cut on his robes but not skin. Kaji appeared to not notice and continued attacking, and hit Naruto's shoulder before he could block.

The force of the blow made Naruto's arm freeze up, as if paralyzed, but he immediately used his free hand to block the next strike. For a moment the two were standing off with crossed weapons, it was like something right out of a movie.

Kaji smiled. "Why fight to get Kasumi her sword back? The woman's going to marry this month from what I heard. After that she'll probably have a few kids and be done with shinobi lifestyle. What's a sword going to do her? Why waste my time repairing a mere memento?"

Naruto frowned and pushed harder. "Did she _say_ that? Or are you just assuming that you geezer? She came to you asking you to repair her sword, why she wants it shouldn't matter to you. A merchant doesn't ask the customer what they intend to do with what they buy."

"Well if I'm the merchant I have the right to refuse service to any customer. Why shouldn't I refuse? She had her sword and now it's gone. She's not the first person to lose something valuable to them."

"Don't you care even a little that your former student is upset?"

"Yes but I'm a highly respected man with little time left in this world. Why should I waste it on something so menial when someone else could?" Kaji asked back.

"So you're too good to do a favor for an old student?" Naruto asked angrily, his eyes starting to turn red. "How can anyone respect a bastard like you who believes the people who respect him aren't worth helping?"

"Naruto-kun don't-" Kasumi started.

"Stay out of this Sensei!" He stated firmly looking right at her, making her shut up for the moment.

In his distraction, Kaji did a sweep kick that knocked Naruto off his feet and then he swung his cane and hit Naruto in his hand, knocking the sword from his hand; the old man caught the sword in his free hand. Naruto looked like he was about to catch his balance but Kaji then slammed the top of his cane into Naruto's chest, knocking him completely backwards and down onto the hard stone floor of the platform. Naruto lay there and saw the old man had prepared a downward thrust to imitate an impaling strike. Naruto rolled out of the way and got back to his feet, but before balance was established Kaji rushed forward and hit him in the sternum, the force pushing him back until he fell. At it so happens, he fell off the platform, resulting in a defeat in this spar.

Naruto lay on the ground, flat on his back with blue eyes again with a look of shock and confusion on his face. _'He... he beat me?'_

Kaji descended the steps, leaning heavily on his cane with one hand and holding onto Naruto's sword with the other. He didn't stop until he stood above the whiskered blonde.

"You failed. You failed because you are too easily swayed by your emotions. Your anger blinded you from seeing obvious points of attack. You were unable to think clearly." He stopped walking when he was right above Naruto and tapped him with his cane. "But you have potential. You just need more structure and experience to get there." He then called out. "Alright Kasumi, I will take him on as a student. And I will reforge your sword."

Naruto sat up instantly. "What? But I lost the challenge."

It was then that Kasumi and Shiori burst out laughing, and Kaji himself gave a light chuckle.

"What is so funny?" Naruto demanded.

"Young man, I fully intended to rebuild her sword. Kasumi was one of my best pupils, I would never deny her a sword."

"But… but earlier you said-"

Kasumi smiled warmly and walked over and helped Naruto up off of the ground. "He was just messing around Naruto-kun. He likes to play the role of the grumpy old sensei sometimes."

"So I just got my butt kicked for nothing?" Naruto asked, feeling slightly like a fool.

Kaji following the sound of Naruto's voice, walked over, and offered back his sword. "I would not say that. I now know where you stand on your current swordsmanship. You will be starting at the beginner level. Oh, and one more thing-" He reached over to where Kasumi was standing, moving his hand up to her hair, and plucked out a few strands.

"Ouch!" Kasumi said in surprise. "What was that for?"

"I need a binding agent to tie the sword to you. I could take your blood again to infuse with the blade if you prefer."

Kasumi paled at the memory of when she had graduated from the dojo, and how Kaji had to take her blood to use in the creation of her blade. "No, hair is fine."

"It will take me some time. I'll need all of tomorrow to get started so don't bring the boy back until the day after that. I suggest you use tomorrow to give him more basics on kenjutsu."

"Yes Kaji-sama. And thank you." Kasumi told him. "C'mon Shiori-san, Naruto-kun, let's leave him to his business."

The trio walked away, and only Naruto bothered to look back as they departed. He saw the old man wobble a bit and head off. _'Wonder how good a teacher he really is.'_

Meanwhile Kaji again covered the spot where Naruto had hit him. _'He is as novice as they come. If I didn't know better I'd swear he had never even touched a sword before this hour. And yet he still made one hit on me. I could say I was unprepared all I want, but the fact is he did get a hit thru, and it would have killed me had he not chosen to use the dull end. He may have the same potential as that boy Zabuza.'_

* * *

That night Kasumi took her team out to eat to celebrate their safe return and success in avenging their lost member Hikaru. This time they didn't eat at Shiori's favorite ramen stand; Kasumi insisted they go to one of the nicer restaurants with a wider variety of dishes.

They sat at a large booth seat in the corner, chatting happily and sipping their drinks.

"So could you tell me more about that old guy?" Naruto asked while they waited for their food to be brought to them.

"Kaji-sama is perhaps the oldest living person in the entire village. He was just a young child when Kiri was founded by the First Mizukage."

"He was also one of the founding members for the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. He was called the Phantom, because they said he had the ability to just 'vanish' and then reappear behind his enemies." Shiori added, sounding like a complete and total fangirl.

"They say that he fought side by side with the First Hokage in capturing the three-tailed and six-tailed bijuu." Kasumi said, not knowing the actual truth because Kaji refused to tell her, he would simply say _"I neither confirm nor deny that happened."_

The word 'Hokage' briefly made an image of gambeling flash in Naruto's mind but it was so faint and fleeting he ignored it.

"The council originally wanted to name him Mizukage after the Yondaime was removed from power, but he refused the title and gave it to Lady Mei instead." Shiori added.

"How did he become blind?" Naruto asked.

Both Shiori and Kasumi became silent for a moment, and then the older woman cleared her throat. "The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, took his eyes. During his reign he hunted down anyone with a kekkei genkai and killed them off. Entire clans were wiped out overnight. Kaji-sama possessed a doujutsu, a kekkei genkai in his eyes."

"Then how come he was not killed?"

Kasumi licked her lips, they had suddenly become so dry. "Because Yagura was afraid to kill Kaji-sama. Yagura knew how respected Kaji-sama was by the Village Council, the Shinobi, and the members of the Seven Swordsmen. He knew that if he killed Kaji-sama that the entire village would rise up against him, even the ones who had supported the Bloodline Purge. But he was also afraid that Kaji-sama might take up a sword against him. Yagura was talented, but even he knew Kaji-sama was a worthy match." Kasumi paused there and took a deep breath. "So Yagura came into the Dojo one day, and when he caught Kaji-sama he used a jutsu to permanently blind him. He did this right in front of all his students… myself included."

"You were there?" Naruto asked.

Kasumi nodded. "I would have been just around your age at the time. At first we had nothing to be afraid of. Myself and the others with me just thought the Mizukage were watching us train so we kept at it. But when we weren't looking, Yagura approached Kaji-sama... and he..." She paused to take a drink from her water bottle. "Now I wasn't looking right at them at the time, but I swear I saw Yagura slash his hook-pole right across Kaji-sama's eyes."

"Really?" Naruto asked, picturing such an action as best he could since he had only seen a picture of Yagura once in one of Kasumi's history lessons.

Kasumi nodded. "That's how I remember it and Kaji-sama never said otherwise. For some reason Yagura never attacked any of us, except for two boys who tried to defend Kaji-sama. Yagura made their deaths quick if nothing else. I remember him saying something like 'I may not be able to kill you old man, but I can weaken you as an example'."

"And this guy was the leader of Kiri? Why was he even in office?" Naruto asked, shocked that Kiri would allow such a guy he heard nothing good about be in charge.

"I don't know for certain. For the most part people don't talk about Yagura's reign anymore. Still a sore subject to most of us. Only a few of the bloodline holders have attempted to return despite the fact Lady Mei has made it safe for them here again."

"Probably because there are still people here that don't want them here because they're still swept up in the paranoia." Shiori noted.

"Anyway Naruto-kun, Kaji-sama is not going to go easy on you. He won't be violent, he will be patient and helpful, but above all else he will not tolerate laziness from you." Kasumi warned her student.

"I don't plan on being lazy." Naruto told her.

"I hope not, but just to be certain Shiori-san will be joining you."

"Really? Why?" Shiori asked.

"I've got to get my wedding ready now that I'm back then I'll be on my honeymoon. Kaji-sama will cover your training until I return to active duty, plus you could give Naruto-kun some help by providing a sparring partner closer to his own level."

"Well I certainly won't say no to some lessons from Kaji-sama." She said happily, then turned to Naruto. "Just don't get in my way."

Despite the fact her tone wasn't insulting, he felt hurt. "And here I thought you were finally going to be nice to me."

"I said I'd accept you as a teammate. I didn't say we'd suddenly become best friends." The redhead girl told the blonde boy.

"Settle down you two or the next mission will be chasing the Daimyo's wife's pet cockatoo next time it escapes." Kasumi told them.

Shiori grimaced but Naruto didn't get it. "What's so bad about that?"

"Ever try catching something that can fly? That bird is the bane of Kiri genin. It takes hours to find it and it poops on whoever tries to grab it and then it pecks you when you _do_ actually catch it."

_'Why does that remind me of a cat?'_ Naruto asked himself. "Then why hasn't the owner clipped it's wings or something?"

"She says that's cruel. 'Oh I could never stand to see my poor baby confined to the ground, he needs to fly free with his friends'."Kasumi said in a high pitched voice and smiled. "But fortunately the bird's too domestic to stay hidden for long."

"The owner should learn to keep the damn thing in it's cage when she comes here." Shiori mumbled.

Dinner came, the topic changed multiple times, and overall the members of the team were happy to be back home.

* * *

It was a calm and quite night. The air was cool and refreshing, as it always was in Kiri.

Kaji sat on the front porch in front of his Dojo, a thick robe wrapped around his body to keep his old bones warm.

That little spar with the boy… Naruto, had drained him. He was getting far too old to be lifting swords, but still-

"That boy is special." Kaji thought with a smile. Even though he had lost his eye sight, he could still 'see' talent. Naruto had capability to become a great swordsman. But then again there was still a shadow of doubt.

Kaji had trained many students who held great promise, three of them had gone on to become members of the Seven Swordsmen, the Kiri elite, but then they had abused their gifts and talent, and rejected all that Kaji had taught them of honor and integrity. When they had becomes rogues and turned their back on the village, he wept.

But Naruto, there was something about him. Something different.

There were few now who could even remember the kekkei genkai of the Hirato clan, they could see into the future. Well, not really. It was more like they could see what was going to happen a moment before it happened. They had used it in battle as to see what their enemy was about to do. It was for that reason Kaji had theorized his life had been spared. Without his eyes Yagura had simply assumed Kaji would become a doddering old man.

Kaji smiled, how wrong the former Mizukage had been.

Although he could no longer use his kekkei genkai as he once did, he could still see small visions in the back of his mind on occasion. And when he had held that boys sword, he had seen something interesting.

He had seen an orange fox, the sun rising to its back with a whirlpool in the center. Then there was a purple snake with the full moon behind it, three comma marks surrounding it. The two creatures fought fiercely.

Kaji let out a small dry laugh. "I think I am starting to lose it in my old age."


	24. Chapter 24

"What are we doing here Jiraiya-sensei?"

"This is the town closest to where Naruto was last seen. It stands to reason that someone here might know where he went."

"Why didn't we check here earlier?" Hinata asked.

"Because we needed to see if he had stopped at any of the places between here and Konoha. I was kinda hoping that we could intercept him as he was trying to get home or at least get a sign he was in the area. Since that didn't work, it's clear Naruto either had to take a different route or headed somewhere else. Starting here now that we are here should clue us in to where he went from here."

For the past month Jiraiya had been leading Hinata in a zigzag fashion towards the eastern coast of Land of Fire. Now that she thought over their route, she realized he had been making a north-south sweep of the land. Obviously checking for any sign of Naruto returning home.

But where they went it had been the same thing. They would ask several people, namely the owners of ramen shops, if they had seen a blonde-haired boy in an orange jacket and they always received the same type of answers.

_'No, sorry.'_

_'Haven't seen him.'_

_'Can't remember the face of every guy I meet.'_

"Jiraiya-sensei, do you think Naruto-kun is even trying to get home?" Hinata asked.

"Unless he's completely forgotten where it is, he should be." The toad sage told his student. He found it very heartwarming to know how much this girl really cared about the boy. Not a single day had gone by without her talking about Naruto, though luckily she didn't do it like a fangirl might. He had to make sure of that and did.

_(Flashback)_

"What is it about that boy that you like so much?" Jiraiya asked as they walked, seeking to make conversation, and possibly use some of her lines for his book.

Hinata responded immediately. "I have never known anyone stronger than Naruto. He never gives up, he never backs down from anyone, and he always faces life head on and with unbreakable determination." She said this proudly and without a moment of pause.

Jiraiya smiled. "That definitely sounds like Naruto."

Hinata nodded. "That's not even scratching the surface. Naruto-kun is someone you cannot just summarize and neither are my feelings for him. In the simplest terms, all I could say is Naruto-kun is everything I could ever want in a loved one."

"You know not everyone finds their true love so soon and young people like yourself do tend to change their standards as they age." He warned.

"Tell me Jiraiya-sensei, do you not also desire the girl you loved at my age?" Hinata asked.

Jiraiya immediately pictured Tsunade. "Never mind, you made your point. All I can say Hinata is if you are one of the lucky few people who find their soul mates early, then you are the envy of many, many people. And I hope you and Naruto never outgrow each other. That would be a tragedy worse than any I could write."

Hinata just smiled. "I have no intention of growing apart from Naruto-kun, only growing with him."

_(End of Flashback)_

"Right now Naruto has no reason not to go back by choice. It's too unlikely he knows how Konoha has reacted to his death, and I doubt even he'd just go up to the village and say 'rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated'. So my only conclusions are he is either incapable of returning home for some reason or he doesn't know where it or he is."

"Amnesia or prison?" Hinata asked for clarification.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, but given the clue from the scroll, my money is on amnesia since if he was trapped he'd use the toads to send word to me letting me know. I am also fairly sure that if he was imprisoned he would have done something to escape by now, cause a riot or something. But, I'm not sure what exactly ended his connection to the toads, but it's much more likely he forgot about them than can't summon them. And if he forgot about them-"

"We can safely assume he's forgotten about much more." Hinata concluded.

"Very good." Jiraiya told her. "Now, if those bandits did throw him in the water, it is safe to assume that the tide would have just dragged him along for a bit before tossing him ashore. It is probably likely he either wandered into the woods or one of the local sea-front towns. We will look around and hopefully we might find some clue on where he is. Of course, due to the large area of the forest around here and the number of costal towns this does make finding him much harder. It could take weeks, even months you know."

Hinata's eyes steeled. "I was prepared for that the moment I asked you to take me on this trip. I'd rather be doing this than being back in Konoha waiting for him to come back, and being probably the only one there wanting him to come back. Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I _will_ find Naruto-kun." _'And from there, I go where he goes.'_

Jiraiya smiled at her. "Well let's get back to searching so you don't have to use the rest of your life to find him." She nodded, and he turned and led her to the town. _'I don't dare tell her the third possible option, that Naruto isn't trying to get home to Konoha. It's unlikely but not impossible, but if she were to consider it, I'm not sure what she might do. She'd either be heartbroken, or encourage him, neither of which are good options.'_

* * *

Jiraiya had to go check out one of his spies, and to keep their identity hidden he requested Hinata not accompany him inside the village.

Hinata was waiting outside the village looking at the scenery, looking like she was defenseless. Of course as a kunoichi with some experience under her belt, she was anything but that. She was alert and aware of her surroundings; she just didn't need to be paranoid about it.

Unfortunately, she would soon wish she had been.

A thud could be heard behind her, the kind that says something hit the ground and it sounded heavier than herself. Hinata turned around and reflexively took a stance, but almost lost it when she saw who it was.

Before her stood Hiashi and like always he did not look happy.

"Hinata you are coming with me." He told her.

"What? Why?"

"It is not your place to question me. Now do as I say."

"But you approved of me going on this trip." Hinata stated.

"That was back when I thought you intended to get some decent training done. But apparently the only reason you came on this trip was to find some worthless nobody in hope he's still alive."

Hinata frowned. "He is not worthless!"

"Nonetheless I was misled and cannot allow my progeny to go thru with this dishonorable endeavor. It was bad enough when you treated that thing like it was a human being and encouraged it instead of Neji in the chuunin exams. But you're actually trying to find it so you-"

"Stop calling Naruto-kun an 'it'! He's a human being dammit!" Hinata said forcefully, cutting off her father for the first time in her life.

Hiashi glared at her like she had just killed his best friend. "How dare you interrupt me! You forget your place failure."

"So did you." Hinata countered.

Hiashi hid it well, but he was surprised. "What?"

"You're a failure as a father. You never say anything nice about me, you like seeing me being beaten up by others, you never even came to see my progress when I was in the hospital because of Neji. You are a complete failure as a father and I hate you." Hinata huffed, getting angrier with each remark.

For a brief time Hiashi was without reaction. When he did show one, Hinata could have sworn the thought behind his glare was 'You have lived far too long and I will correct that right now.'

He ran to her with his arms poised to strike, giving her suspicions credibility. However, Hinata had no intention of letting him hit her. Not this time.

She rushed towards him in return, surprising him, and took advantage of her smaller size by diving under his arms to attack his open areas. He grimaced a bit from the hit, but she didn't hurt him enough to stop him.

Hiashi got away from her and pivoted to follow up an attack and keep his momentum. He used a kick to force Hinata to block and took the opportunity to attack her when her focus was momentarily elsewhere.

Hinata winced at the contact and released the leg she was defending against before backflipping out of his follow-up range. 'Strange, his attack didn't feel the same as usual. Did he miss my tenketsu, or I am getting better at resisting damage?'

"You don't even move like a Hyuuga anymore. Such a disgrace." Hiashi commented before attacking again.

"Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms." Hinata said before performing her original technique, effectively keeping Hiashi from making contact with her.

"You're only proving me right further." He declared, refraining from attacking for the moment.

"What do you care? You never acknowledged me as a real Hyuuga so why should I fight like one?" She retorted, slowing down her jutsu to avoid wasting chakra even if she did have a lot of it.

"As long as you're associated with our clan you will be expected to not embarrass us." Seeing her slow down made him attack again, but Hinata never actually ended her jutsu so she returned it to full power when he was at point-blank range. The result was him being propelled away from her and landing in an undignified way with a lot of dust clouds covering him.

Hinata approached him ready to kick him when he was down, a symbol for him and other Hyuugas doing the same to her over the years, but she froze when she saw not her father, but her current sensei on the ground.

"Jiraiya-sensei?" She asked. 'Is this a trick?'

The toad sannin opened his eyes and groaned a bit as he sat up, but nonetheless he smirked. "Well done Hinata, you passed." Jiraiya said, impressed.

"Jiraiya-sensei, why did you henge to look like my father?"

"That was my true test here. I wasn't seeing your reaction to random threats, I was seeing your reaction to your clan and especially to him."

"Why?"

"Because I know you've got a lot of resentment towards him. Your little rant a few minutes ago confirmed it. And as long as you harbor resentment towards him, as long as you still have his words in your mind, there will always be a faint shadow of self-doubt within you. Now, while I'm sure you've done wonders regarding those issues in your private venting sessions, but it's easy to badmouth someone behind their back. I needed to see if you could have the same conviction if he was right there in front of you and willing to do something about it. Basically, I was seeing if your courage was real or hypothetical."

Hinata didn't respond right away, but she quickly saw his point and nodded. "I understand completely Jiraiya-sensei. That was actually a good idea."

"Not to mention now you've got the urge to beat the crap out of him out of your system so when you do see the real him later on, if he gives you crap you won't feel compelled to do to him then what you did now." Jiraiya added.

It took a second for his meaning to sink in, but she did grasp it. _'There's a good chance that when I inevitably see Otou-san again he will be judgment and cynical, and I would be strongly tempted to give him more than just a piece of my mind to prove him wrong.'_ "So you think I should do nothing if he does?"

"Not necessarily. But now if you do you won't be so quick to react violently."

Hinata smiled a bit. "Now that I think about it, I should have known that wasn't my father I was fighting. You didn't move like him at all. I was just too mad to notice."

"Let that be a reminder of why you shouldn't let your anger affect you in battle." Jiraiya told her.

Hinata nodded. _'Up until now, that's almost never been a problem for me. But it's not impossible for me to get angry, so I really did need this reminder._'

"Now that I've seen that, I think it's time to get you started on the next level of your training." Jiraiya told her.

"What's that?" She asked.

The white-haired man turned away and pulled out a box he had placed behind a tree. He opened it and revealed a water balloon. "This is part one of one of Naruto's favorite techniques, the rasengan. Just so you know, the Yondaime invented it and it took him three years to do so. I learned it in six months, but Naruto learned it in two weeks." _'Though I still cannot figure out how the hell he did it.'_

"Wow." The young girl said, impressed by her loved one's accomplishment. "What's this jutsu like?"

"Here, I'll give you a little demonstration." He said then faced a tree. He held out his right hand, holding it so she could see him, and started to create a ball or swirling chakra in the palm of his hand.

_'Wait, I've seen Naruto-kun do that one.'_ She thought, remembering seeing Naruto do that before on one of their joint missions, but he always did it with a clone.

Without interruption, Jiraiya powered up his jutsu and thrust it into the tree trunk. Here he was going full power to show Hinata it's currently known full potential. The tree almost exploded, requiring Hinata to shield herself from the splinter debris.

"That is the rasengan. Just so you know it can do damage on various levels, from bad abrasions to that. I showed you that to give you an idea how effective it can become. As you can see it's quite powerful, and since it doesn't require hand signs it can't be copied. The only way to learn it is to learn it step by step, and if anyone were to try and reverse-engineer it, it would surely take them years to succeed."

"And I'm going to learn this?" She asked.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "No, I'm showing you this because it's fun."

"Ok, stupid question. Anyway, I see how useful it would be for me since I'm assuming it can only be used in close range combat. And if for some reason my juuken were to fail, this might help me out."

Jiraiya smiled, liking her reasoning. "Take one of these balloons. I'll show you the first step." She took one and so did he. "Use your byakugan to see what I'm about to do." Hinata activated her doujutsu and saw him swirl chakra in the water, getting it to swirl around. On the outside the balloon began to flatten a bit due to the shape of the water current, but when he started moving his chakra in multiple directions all at once it regained it's normal shape, albeit with bumps appearing rapidly in random spots. After a bit, the balloon burst.

"Did you get that?" He asked.

She nodded, deactivating her eyes. "I think. You burst the balloon by spinning the chakra around until the balloon could no longer contain the water. But how did you spin it in multiple directions at once?"

"That takes practice to get right and is something you just have to learn by trying yourself. Use this balloon and any other here to get started. Once you get it done, show me and I'll get you started on the next step."

Hinata nodded. "I won't let you down Jiraiya-sensei." She got started right away.

"Don't push yourself too far kid. Remember it took me months to learn it and the Yondaime himself was the one who taught me, and even Naruto needed a while to grasp how it was done, and even then he nearly pushed himself past his natural limit to succeed. So, don't expect to get it done in the first day."

"If I'm lucky, we'll find Naruto-kun before I finish learning this. And if not, at least I'll have something to show him." She said, still focusing on the balloon.

Jiraiya just smiled.

* * *

Tsunade was in her office working on a mountain of paperwork, one of the banes of the Hokage office and possibly one of the circles of hell when there was a knock at her door. "Enter." She called as she scribbled something down on a sheet of paper.

The door opened and in walked Shikamaru who bowed his head respectfully. "Hokage-sama."

Tsunade put her pen down and looked at the boy. "Shikamaru, what can I help you with?"

"I've been doing some research, and I have a question that I think only you can answer." He said.

"Alright, what is it?" She asked.

"Why was the nine-tailed fox put into Naruto?"

There was a silence in the room as Tsunade stared at Shikamaru for a long moment. "What prompted this question? Surely you haven't forgotten my earlier explanation to your group." She asked.

"I have not, but I was doing some research at the library. And there seems to be a gap from where the First Hokage originally sealed the Kyuubi to where the Fourth Hokage sealed it away. The Kyuubi had to be somewhere in all that time but there's no record of it."

"And what makes you think I have knowledge of this?"

"Your grandfather was the First Hokage, your great-uncle was the Second Hokage, and your sensei was the Third Hokage. It therefore stands to reason that you know something that has been left outside the history books."

"I don't recall my Grandfather ever going into great detail on what happened during his battle with Uchiha Madara, nor do I remember either my Uncle or Sensei bringing the subject up." Tsunade said as she returned to her work. "If that is all you have to say then please leave me to my work."

"How did the Kyuubi get loose if the First sealed it away? Where did he seal it? In a person, like with Naruto? And why was Naruto specifically chosen? I find it hard to believe that Fourth Hokage would have just chosen a child at random. He had to have _some_ criteria in mind, even if he was stressed for time."

Tsunade did not look up from her paperwork. "One of the great mysteries of life."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes, he had been hoping not to play this card but… "It is amazing how little we know about our Village's past. Like the fact the wife of the First Hokage was called _Uzumaki_ Mito before she was married."

Another long silence in the room and after a while Tsunade let out a sigh. "Damn public records."

"Would you please explain now?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade sighed again and put her pen down as she looked up at Shikamaru. "Uzumaki Mito was indeed my grandmother, and Naruto and I are distant cousins by blood." She said as she rubbed her brow.

"Did he ever know?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No, I never told him. It would not have mattered anyway."

"Why?"

"Because the Uzumaki clan is dead. They have been dead for more than two decades. Naruto and his mother were the last."

Shikamaru stared at her with a raised brow. "His mother?"

Tsunade frowned. "The Uzumaki line has been the carrier for the Kyuubi for three generations. Before Naruto it was his mother, and before her it was my grandmother. That's the missing gap in the record you were wondering about."

Shikamaru took a seat in front of Tsunade's desk, not saying anything, and the female Hokage stared at him. "You are to never repeat any of this, you understand?" The boy nodded. "Naruto did have parents, but to protect him they were kept hidden and his birth records sealed away."

"Who were they?"

"His mother was Uzumaki Kushina, from Uzushiogakure, the now-destroyed Hidden Whirlpool Village. She was also the second container for the Kyuubi. His father was-" She paused there, as if having a hard time forcing the words out. "-Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha."

Shikamaru's mouth dropped open just a little bit. Naruto, the Naruto who kept declaring that he was going to be the greatest Hokage in the world, was the son of the greatest Hokage in the world? "What actually happened?"

"There was an accident when Naruto was being born. The seal keeping the Kyuubi contained in his mother weakened and it broke loose. Kushina was too weak and would not have survived a resealing so instead… both she and the Fourth Hokage sacrificed themselves and put the Kyuubi inside Naruto. The Uzumaki line is a powerful one, if any other body had been used to seal a Bijuu as powerful as the Kyuubi they would have died instantly. Naruto's survival was a testimony to the power he possessed even as a newborn."

"That does not excuse the fact his own parents turned him into a target for the hatred of the village."

Tsunade shook her head. "That was not their intention. The Fourth Hokage had hoped that Naruto would be treated as a hero, the savior that kept the Kyuubi at bay. He had hoped that the people would have been told the truth… but that was not the case."

"Why? What happened to change it?"

"The council happened. They feared that if it became public knowledge that the Fourth Hokage had a son and that the child was the container for the Kyuubi, that all of the armies of the ninja world would have converged on Konoha. To eliminate the threat to them Naruto could become before he got the chance to become it."

"So they thought it was better to hide the truth and leave Naruto completely in the dark." Shikamaru spat.

"That is not true. The Third Hokage decreed that on Naruto's eighteenth birthday, he would be told the truth."

"Why then?"

"Because it was thought that at that point, he would be mature enough to understand what happened and why things happened the way they happened."

"You mean why he was treated like a third class citizen? Why he grew up thinking no one ever loved him? Why he thought he never had any claim to a heritage or even a birthright? Or that he had actually inherited the role as jailer?"

"You are being unfair Shikamaru."

"The unfair ones here Hokage-sama are the people of Konoha and you know it." He refuted. "You said the council had to hide Naruto's identity to keep himself and Konoha safe. If that was their true intention then propaganda about Naruto never would have started in the first place. Someone decided to leak out information on his connection to the Kyuubi but kept the rest hidden. In short, someone in power _wanted_ Naruto to suffer."

"I suspect that too, but without proof or a confession we can't do anything to the guilty party." Tsunade told him.

"It's worse than that Hokage-sama." Shikamaru added, intriguing her. "The civilians may not know much about ninja skills, but I've never heard of any civilian accusing an Aburame of actually being an insect or an Inuzuka of actually being a dog. So why accuse Naruto of being the fox? And why would some shinobi believe the same? A scroll doesn't become the weapon you seal into it, everyone chuunin and higher is required to know storage seals. So why are they thinking this?"

"I've wondered that myself, but I'm afraid the only answers I could give would sound like I'm defending what they did to Naruto and I cannot do that."

Shikamaru nodded. "I understand entirely. My best theory is the person or persons responsible for telling people about Naruto is the one who first encouraged the rumors of him being controlled by the fox."

"Even so Shikamaru, there's nothing we can do about it. The guilty ones aren't going to up and reveal themselves now, especially with people breaking the Third's Law being executed. And we're all in trouble in a couple of years anyway."

"Beg pardon?" Shikamaru asked.

The Senju princess did not want to admit this, but due to her slip of the tongue she had little choice to. "A sad fact about the bijuu is that after they do 'die' in some way, they eventually reform. They're chakra entities but they don't just dissipate like normal chakra, instead they blend back into the natural chakra of the world and reform themselves after a few years. No one knows why but they do. If Naruto is truly dead, then the Kyuubi is only dead for a little while and may very well someday return. And with no Uzumaki left we have little chance of sealing it away again. Right now my biggest concern is preparing us for the chance Kyuubi will return."

Shikamaru was understandably frightened by the implication though he kept his cool. But as he thought it over, something Tsunade said registered in his mind as a priority. "Wait, _if_ Naruto is truly dead? Are you saying there's a chance he isn't?"

"Until we find physical evidence of it, then yes, there is a chance he's alive. Though where he would be is unknown."

"What are the odds of him being alive?"

"Shikamaru-"

He rose to his feet planting his palms on her desk. "Tell me how likely it is he's still alive!"

"Nara Shikamaru, calm yourself. I understand your desire to hear good news for your friend but it's not that easy for me to answer you." Tsunade told him, standing up as well with her palms on her desk, challenging his defiance.

"Hokage-sama, you have Hyuuga Hinata traveling around with Jiraiya-sama right?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Both of them are looking for Naruto, am I right?"

"Yes."

Shikamaru grinned and took his hands off the desk. "The fact that you authorized this trip for Hinata tells me you believe the odds of Naruto being alive are enough to actually seek him out. If he was beyond a doubt dead you would have sent hunter nin out, not them. Not people that want to find him alive. You believe Naruto is alive Hokage-sama."

Tsunade sat down and sighed. "Yes, I admit it. If he had died Kyuuib's chakra would have flared up considerably when the Kyuubi died with him. Our sensors posted around the country in various posts would surely have felt that if it occurred, but no such report came in. So there is reason to believe Naruto is in fact still alive."

"Then why lead us all to believe he's dead?" Shikamaru asked, getting a little irritated at the thought. "Couldn't at least Sakura have been told this? Do you have any idea how much having this to hope for would help in her recovery?"

"Of course I know that. But I have my reasons for not saying anything." Tsunade defended. "I didn't want to say anything until his life or death was confirmed. Do you have any idea what would happen to Sakura if her hopes for Naruto were completely crushed? She might give up entirely. And people have conspired against Naruto for years. As long as they believe he's dead, they can't prepare against him for when he does return."

"I won't argue the conspirator part, but couldn't Sakura at least be told Naruto might be alive? I'm sure it will help her recover faster if she has something to hope for."

"It might, but I worry that it would be easy to trigger a relapse and she wouldn't be able to recover from it. Naruto had a deeper impact on her than anyone ever knew, even herself."

"And that's why she needs this ray of hope." Shikamaru insisted.

Tsunade did not look convinced. "Shikamaru-"

"You gave Hinata hope, why not Sakura?"

Tsunade blinked a few times, then closed her eyes and sighed. "You got me there. Fine, if you insist, I grant you permission to tell Sakura that Naruto is likely alive somewhere. But she must be sworn to secrecy and you cannot tell her Naruto's heritage."

Shikamaru nodded. "Understood, and thank you Hokage-sama." He then left the office.

Tsunade turned to look out her window. "Naruto, I hope I can make Konoha a better home for you when you come back. And Sakura, I hope you're strong enough to handle this."


	25. Chapter 25

"How's that rasengan coming along Hinata?" Jiraiya asked his pupil as they traveled down a road to their next stop.

"The first step is harder than I thought it would be Jiraiya-sensei." She told him as she continued trying to pop a water balloon with her chakra.

_'Ahh just feels so good to be called sensei with such respect again.'_

"Try using both hands if that helps." The sannin offered, returning his gaze forward, he offered a few hints on how to master the rasengan but he did not want to tell her everything about it. He wanted to see what she could figure out on her own.

The last stop they had been at finally provided a lead towards Naruto. A ramen stand owner had remembered the boy with great detail.

"_Oh yes him, yeah I remember him. A real nice kid, though he ate more ramen in one day then I had seen ten people stomach in an entire week. If I didn't know better I'd swear the kid had never eaten before in his life."_

The owner had recalled that after eating Naruto had gone east, heading closer to the shore of Land of Fire for reasons the vendor didn't catch or remember.

_'The objective of Naruto's mission was to retrieve a cash payment on a debt to Konoha from an old client in the last town.'_ Jiraiya remembered, having been told why Naruto was out alone in the first place. _'If Naruto had to leave town in this direction, then it's likely the client wasn't there but in the next town over. That's suspicious, and I only hope Naruto realized that. If I'm right, then the client was trying to skimp out on the payment and was either hiding from the ninja hoping he'd give up, or is holding Naruto for ransom.'_ At that thought he shook his head.

"Jiraiya-sensei?" Hinata asked, seeing his headshake.

"Oh nothing, just had a thought I disagreed with." He told her. _'If the client were holding Naruto for ransom we'd have heard about it by now. You can't collect a ransom if everyone thinks the hostage is dead after all. Besides, Hinata herself verified that a group of rogues claimed to have attacked Naruto at night then ditched him. We can't interrogate the rogues but maybe we can find someone connected to them. Sure it's a long shot, but maybe if we can find the client Naruto was meant to find, we may know where Naruto ended up after he had been ganged up on.'_

"Where are we going now?" Hinata asked.

"I've got an idea I want to investigate. If I'm right, we might find out exactly what happened to Naruto. If I'm wrong, we're no worse off than we are now."

* * *

Back in Konoha things looked no different than before it had before news of Naruto's death had been spread. The death of one ninja was never enough to change things for long, not even the hokage. Mourning periods for ninja villages were all but required to be brief, as to keep the ninja from wallowing in grief. Those that took longer to grieve then others had to save it for their off times, hence why Kakashi visited the memorial stone whenever he could.

Like they say, time heals all wounds, even though some wounds take longer to heal than others.

The other member of the former Team Seven, Sakura, was released from the hospital and indeed getting better finally. After moving in with Ino and having contact with others again after her self-imposed isolation, she now had a much healthier look and smile to her face, albeit not as bright as it used to be. Ino's parents were being extremely kind to her and were indeed making her feel welcomed. But Sakura felt something was gone, besides Naruto and her mother. Something the Yamanaka's couldn't give her.

Sakura was walking down the street, carrying a bundle of flowers in her arms. When she was not working as a nurse at the hospital for the sake of bettering her medical jutsu experience, she was earning her keep by making deliveries for the flower shop. She had nothing better to do as she was removed from the active list of ninja until she could prove she was no threat to others or herself, except when required on the job of course.

Today she was delivering roses for an anniversary to a happy couple when a memory came to her.

_"Hey Sakura-chan, want to go on a date with me?" Naruto asked as he held out a freshly picked flower to her._

_"Not in a million years." She said with absolute certainty._

"I could have gone on one date with him, just one date." She said aloud to herself with regret. "It wouldn't have killed me, and it probably wouldn't have hurt my chances with Sasuke either. Looking back I doubt he would have really cared if I had been nice to Naruto or not."

"Hey Sakura." Shikamaru casually greeted as he walked up to her.

"Hi Shikamaru." She returned the greeting, trying to sound chipper but it was more forced than genuine.

"Listen, there's something I've been meaning to tell you, but I thought it was wiser to wait a day or so first. That way I'd know you were ready to hear it."

"Hear what?" Sakura asked. _'Don't tell me he's going to ask me out. I don't know if he's my type, or if I even want to date anyone right now.' _Without Sasuke or Naruto around anymore, Sakura was no longer sure what she wanted in a man.

"I'll tell you somewhere a little more private. I don't want anyone, not even Ino to hear what I was told."

Sakura looked concerned but curious. "Alright, I'll just finish this delivery and then we can go somewhere private to talk."

The delivery took no time at all, and the recipient was a woman being surprised by her husband who thanked Sakura. She responded politely and wished the woman happiness before leaving, not needing to collect payment as the husband already paid for them. After that they went to the most private place either of them could think of, the Nara's private forest, which Sakura was only legally allowed to enter thanks to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru took a seat on a stump while Sakura stood by a tree. "Sakura, you might want to be seated for what I'm about to tell you. Also, no matter what you must avoid shouting and you must be sworn to absolute secrecy under penalty of perjury or maybe worse."

Sakura nodded and sat down in the dirt by the tree, avoiding leaning against it so she could remain attentive. "What is it?"

"Swear to secrecy first Sakura." The young chuunin repeated. "I need to hear you say it."

The pinkette nodded. "Alright, I swear not to tell another living soul without Hokage-sama's permission, not even Ino. What is this?"

Shikamaru sighed before speaking. "I'm aware that you've been grieving greatly for Naruto after hearing he died. What if you had reason to believe he's not dead?"

Sakura's eyes widened and for a moment she swore her heart wasn't beating. "Wh-what?"

"I went to Hokage-sama a few days ago, and I have reason to believe Naruto may not be dead after all."

Sakura felt like the entire world had come to a halt in that moment. _'Na-Naruto may be... alive? My Naruto? He's still alive?'_ "Shikamaru, if this is a joke I-"

"Would I really joke about something this serious Sakura?" The Nara heir interjected. "And have you ever heard me joke before?"

"What... makes you believe this?" Sakura asked. _'Please let it be true. If I can see Naruto again even if only long enough to apologize to him I'd be so happy. And if he can stay longer... I might even do more than just date him, public opinion be damned.'_

"I was going over research of the Uzumaki name. You see, one of my relatives told me Naruto was given that name in memory of an old respected family, but that made me suspicious as I had never heard of an Uzumaki family or clan before. Have you?" Sakura shook her head. "I don't think anyone our age has. So I looked it up and I found out something unusual. It turns out the wife of the First Hokage, her maiden name was Uzumaki."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Naruto's related to the First Hokage?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Along with the Fifth Hokage, since the First was part of the Senju, Tsunade-sama's clan."

_'Tsunade-sama's related to Naruto? Is that why she let him call her baa-chan so much? Was she in some way something akin to that?'_ Sakura thought. "Wait, you said Naruto was given that name. Couldn't that mean he's not blood-related, just name-related?"

"I considered that, but when I confronted Hokage-sama on it and when I mentioned the surname of the First Hokage's wife, she admitted that she and Naruto were in fact distant cousins but that he himself was the last of the Uzumaki clan, not Senju."

Sakura was amazed by all this. "But Shikamaru, this doesn't mean he's still alive."

"I'm getting to that." Shikamaru told the pinkette. "Now, by discussing my findings with Hokage-sama, I was told the truth about Naruto's parentage and why he was the one selected to contain Kyuubi in the first place. She has forbidden me from telling you any of it, but she did mention that _if_ Naruto was dead the Kyuubi would return in a few years and with no Uzumaki left we would be unable to seal it away again, as only an Uzumaki can contain it and stay alive. Anyone else would die."

"If?" Sakura asked, noting the emphasis on that word.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes, _if_ Naruto were dead. Which told me she believed he might not be. No sensors stationed around the country have detected any sign of Kyuubi's chakra flaring up so Naruto's death can't be confirmed. Not to mention Hinata is out of Konoha on a trip, which we all know is really a means for her to go find him. Hokage-sama wouldn't bother allowing that if she believed all Hinata was going to find was a dead body. So with all this in mind-"

"Naruto really could be alive." Sakura finished, sounding like she had just discovered the meaning of life.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes, it is possible. But remember, you can't say a word of this to anyone."

"What? Why not? Shouldn't our friends at least know?" Sakura objected.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Sakura, remember how the village reacted once word spread that Naruto 'died'?" Sakura nodded, unable to ever forget what the village had done. "If word got out that Naruto was still alive, how do you think people would react? Would it be positive, or would they scream for his blood like never before?"

Sakura paled when she got his meaning. "The instant he showed up back here people would try to kill him on site, no matter what the law or hokage says. Some ninja might even sneak out of the village to find him and try to kill him before he even has the chance to get back."

Shikamaru nodded. "True. Now, our group means him no harm. But the fact is that through us other ninja can learn of this. In fact, even though Team Eight originally learned of Naruto's death, in a week the entire village learned. I'm certain no one on that team is a gossip, not even Kiba, but somehow someone learned what they knew and spread it. And it spread even more."

_'He's right. All it took was a few hours after Shino had told me for my mom to hear of it. So how did it spread so much so quickly? It's as if someone wanted the entire village to know. But who?'_ Sakura thought.

"So even though it may feel like we're distrusting our friends, this is for Naruto's own good. Understand?" Shikamaru asked.

Sakura nodded, though she looked upset. "Yes, this way we can keep people from trying to hurt Naruto wherever he is and allow Hinata to keep looking for him without interference. And hopefully in the meantime we can do something about the Naruto-haters still here, so when he comes back this will be a safe place for him."

Shikamaru looked, looking bored per usual but content. "Indeed, though the question is how without making things worse?"

"We're smart people, we can figure something out. And with Naruto's future on the line, you can't afford to be lazy on this Shikamaru." Sakura replied/threatened.

_'Troublesome, but she's right.' _"Very true, however as you can see I have not been lazy on this matter. I have been doing deep research. And I intend to find out who it was exactly that leaked such precious information regarding Naruto."

"What do you think you will find?" Sakura asked. _'When we find that creep I'm calling first dibs on beating the crap out of them.'_

"Hopefully, nothing that will implicate that someone we know has a bigger mouth than a brain."

* * *

The White Lotus Casino and Hotel was a place that was awash in a sea of opulent decadence. It was one of the largest gambling establishments in all of Wave Country ever since Gato was eliminated. A place where fortunes were won and lost every hour by the patrons that flooded it. The gaming floor was flooded with regulars who tested their luck at the slot machines, threw dice across the tables, or tried to get the lucky 21 at cards.

In private rooms, more wealthy customers were playing high stakes games, betting piles of money on a single game of cards.

Casino entertainment varied from beautiful and scantly clad women to professional and well-known musicians.

But, there was the singular rule when it came to casinos, the house always wins and at the White Lotus that was not a rule, it was a law.

A man named Dewa Toshi was lounging in his luxurious room in his penthouse above the casino. At the moment he was using a 10000 ryo bill in order to light his cigar. That in combination with his tiger skin carpet, velvet recliner, a wine glass in his free hand, and a purple business suit all together made the middle-aged grey-haired man look like someone who had gotten lucky in life. Although many would think that he had been a little too lucky to have done it all by honorable means. If anything, he might just be a second coming of Gato in disguise, learning from the mistakes of the first one on how to rob a country blind.

He was having yet another good day in a long line of good days, but that was about to change right now.

"Burning money eh? I guess rich guys who never work for it see it as disposable." An unexpected voice said from behind, making Toshi jump out of his chair screaming for a second. He turned and saw a white-haired man in a red vest.

"Who the hell are you? Security!" He yelled.

"Relax, I'm only here to ask a few questions. You're in no danger."

Toshi wasn't at all convinced. He immediately rushed to the hidden button in the room to alert security and pressed it several times in a panic. But nothing happened, making him push it more.

"That won't work. I disconnected the wiring. A simple trick for a ninja of my caliber."

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Toshi all but screamed, slightly unnerved by the fact this man was a ninja.

"I'm Jiraiya of the Sannin, and I told you what I want. Don't give yourself a heart attack man."

"I haven't done anything wrong." Toshi claimed. "You can't prove a damn thing."

Jiraiya smirked. "I didn't say you did. Strange how you're so quick to believe I'm here to punish you for something. Have you done anything to be punished for?"

"No!"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Oh you poor fool, do you really believe you can trick a shinobi like me with a lie like that?"

"What do you want?" Toshi asked again, thinking this might be blackmail or something, if it was then this could be all settled very easily.

"I'm just here to ask a few questions, namely regarding the last time a ninja from Konoha interacted with you." Jiraiya told him.

"What about it? A ninja came here for the final monthly payment and I gave it. What more do you need to know?" Toshi replied. Several years ago he had been competing with someone over who would inherit the casino and he was terrified that his rival would try to assassinate him before the previous owner would declare his successor. It turned out his fears were accurate, and Konoha shinobi fought off some powerful assassins. Unfortunately Toshi couldn't afford the bill for the mission at the time and arranged a series of monthly payments until the mission was paid for. Just recently the debt was cleared off entirely. It would have been paid sooner, but he had to pretend to be bankrupt to keep Gato away from his fortune.

"The thing about that is we never actually got the payment." Jiraiya told him. "You see, the ninja that had been sent here to collect the payment never came back."

"I just told you everything I can." Toshi told Jiraiya. "The payment was made, so it's not my fault that your ninja got ambushed. Making me pay twice is just cruel."

"This isn't about the money, this is about the missing ninja." Jiraiya stated, offended that the guy in front of him acted like it was his wallet that was the real victim here.

"I had nothing to do with that." Toshi insisted.

Jiraiya relaxed his posture. "Did I say you did?" Toshi's face paled. "Is there something you're trying to hide?"

"No, not at all."

"Then why are you so anxious for me to leave? If you're truly innocent then you've got nothing to be afraid of."

"Cause this is my casino and I want you out."

Jiriya smiled "Alright then, I will be on my way." He then looked like he was about to leave but then he paused. "But wait… I never told you that the ninja in question had been ambushed." He looked Toshi right in the eye. "How exactly did you know that?"

_'I've got to get out of here.'_ Toshi told himself, looking for a way out. The only available exit was the door, so he rushed for that. Once he opened it though, he felt an unexpected surge of hits all over his frontside, rendering him immobile.

"Nice job Hinata." Jiraiya praised, glad his student had been ready for this event.

The Hyuuga heiress stood by the downed casino owner, who twitched and breathed heavily. "He's definitely hiding something from us Jiraiya-sensei. A blind person can see that."

"Then we'll have to make him give us the truth. And I can teach you some interrogation techniques while we're at it." The sage said as he came up to her.

* * *

"Why are we here again?"

"Because we need to find out what my old teammate Jiraiya is up to Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru told his student, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I still don't see how this is any of my concern." Sasuke commented. This was not his concern. Jiraiya was Orochimaru's problem not his. If they had a quarrel it was their business, something Sasuke could not care less about.

"According to my sources in Konoha, Jiraiya was supposed to take your former teammate on a training trip. With him dead, that trip should have been cancelled, yet it hasn't. So I wonder if your teammate is either tricking Konoha into thinking he's dead or if Jiraiya took on a new student. Either way, the wise thing to do is see for ourselves and eliminate the problem before it grows."

Sasuke frowned. _'The dobe might still be alive?' _"So why are we waiting?"

"A snake hides before it strikes to catch the toad off guard."

"Toads can't fight back." Sasuke pointed out.

"Actually, they can. Trust me Sasuke-kun, the element of surprise often does more than brute strength ever could alone. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems." Orochimaru advised.

Sasuke didn't refute the statement but that was mainly because he wasn't in the mood to talk in the first place.

Week after week had passed and still there had only been a little process. More than he had accomplished before he left Konoha but not as much as Sasuke had hoped. He needed more power, much more if was ever to defeat his brother.

He had demanded that Orochimaru uphold his promise and use his 'methods' to increase his mental, physical, and chakra levels right away. Never let it be said that Sasuke was patient. But so far Orochimaru had refused him. Something about how his methods would indeed increase his 'current' abilities tenfold but if they worked together to harness the raw power already within him,by the time the experiments were needed he would already be ten times stronger. Maybe more.

Sasuke was quickly starting to dislike Orochimaru. The man was indeed a genius without rival but he guarded his secrets far too closely for Sasuke's likings. Hardly willing to share information that was expected in a master-apprentice relationship.

When Sasuke came to the snake sannin, he assumed Orochimaru would have handed him power left and right like jutsu were going out of style. That had yet to happen, Orochimaru was helping him Sasuke wouldn't refute that, but they weren't going at the pace Sasuke expected. It didn't matter that it was for his own good or even if his expectations were a bit unreasonable, as far as Sasuke was concerned Orochimaru was withholding power from him.

_'I'll bide my time. I can't attack him now, he won't risk killing me but that doesn't mean he can't overpower me if I were to turn on him now. I'll learn all that I need to learn from this old fool. Once I have it I can test my new abilities on him.'_ Sasuke told himself.

Then there was the possibility that Naruto might indeed still be alive.

Part of him wasn't sure if he should be grateful or pissed.

If that blonde fool was still alive then the two of them could finally end their rivalry once and for all. Their battle at the Valley of End had been an epic clash without a doubt. But to him, even though he had emerged as victor, it felt like a stalemate. He had seen the power that Naruto wielded. The type of power that he himself dreamed of and yearned for, even if he couldn't identify what it was. If Naruto was alive then he finally prove to all that his power was indeed greater.

It would not surprise him if Naruto was still among the living. That damned dobe was too stubborn to die properly.

On the other hand… if Naruto really was dead then perhaps he could have some 'fun'. He was interested in knowing which other member of the Rookie teams had attracted the attention of another Sannin enough to take Naruto's place.

It had to be someone powerful, maybe Neji the Hyuuga genius or perhaps Shikamaru. Those are the only two he actually perceived as any kind of actual threat to him. Others like Sakura, Ino, or Lee were beyond laughable, and Kiba had lost to Naruto even when the dobe had been weakened by Orochimaru so he was even more unlikely. The other Rookies Sasuke never even bothered to learn the names of so he doubted it was either of them.

A small smile then started to appear on his face, whoever it was, he would make to sure to greet his old comrade 'properly'.


	26. Chapter 26

"Tsunade-sama, I've got something for you." A toad said when it appeared on the hokage's desk holding small scroll in it's mouth.

"Oh really. I hope the old pervert has good news this time." She said as she took the parchment from its mouth.

"You know it is customary to giver the deliverer of the message a tip."

"They also say don't kill the messenger. But that hasn't stopped me before." She said with a frown.

The toad felt a shudder go through it's slimy body and nodded. "Point taken."

The female Hokage then began to read the message.

_'Dear Hime, the search is still on but we are doing well. I've backtracked Naruto's movements on his last mission while checking any places he may have stopped first or afterwards. So far nothing, but we have encountered the client of the mission and are interrogating him now. The student you recommended is proving quite useful for this part. With her juuken we've guaranteed his inability to escape or resist, and when he withholds answers she... I suspect that during all her time watching Naruto she picked up a few things from him. I think she's using some of his old pranks as interrogation methods. Since this is not my area of expertise, I can't say if her methods are the best, but she is getting results and that's what counts.'_

_'I wonder how Hiashi would react to hearing Hinata mimicking Naruto and being praised for it.'_ Tsunade idly wondered as she continued to read.

_'Anyway, from what we can gather we have reason to suspect that the client set him up but we do not yet have reason to believe he's alive. I believe it is better explained in person than thru a letter. In case you forgot Naruto's original mission was to receive a final payment for a past bill and the client decided to skimp out on it, and with our work we got him to confess this and admit that the bandits Hinata's team encountered were the ones done to do the job. Don't know why the guy chose to pay bandits over paying a bill but greed makes people stupid.'_

"You're rambling Jiraiya." Tsunade mumbled, even though she knew he couldn't hear her. Even in a letter the guy loved to hear himself talk.

_'After that I learned where the assault took place and from what Hinata told me these bandits threw Naruto's unconscious body in the sea. I'm starting to suspect that the current took him away, but here's where it gets bad, he was at sea north of the Uzu fork.'_

"Oh that is bad." Tsunade muttered. The Uzu fork was a term for a break in one of the sea currents. In the sea separating Land of Fire from Land of Water there was a circular current flowing in a counter-clockwise direction. Using it one could sail between the countries much faster than without, and it helped make sailing from Land of Water to Land of Lightning faster too. Though because of the size of the current, return trips weren't as quick since you had to take a different route to get back on the current. Just north of the Uzu island the current forked in two, one part going east and another going south. That break was called the Uzu fork.

If his body had been thrown out there, there was a definite possibility Naruto could have been drowned and then swept out to sea.

"If Naruto was in the current before the fork, then by now he could be in either Tea Country or even Land of Water." Tsunade commented then she did some medical figures in her head. '_If he drowned, given the rate of water decomposition, bloating of the skin, and probability fish or sea gulls ate at the flesh…there would be no way anyone could identity the body properly. Even a byakugan would struggle to find an identifying characteristic.'_

That painted a grim image in her mind, she quickly returned to the letter in order to refocus her thoughts.

_'So at this point we may have to start searching out of country. Let me know what you think is the best course of action before I decide for myself. Hinata's not going to be too patient on this. Remember, she wants to find him more than we do.'_

Tsunade nodded. "Yeah, and I'm glad someone does." She then put down the letter.

"Also Hokage-sama, I have something else for you." The toad added. It jumped off her desk and grew to a larger size in her room before spitting out a bound and gagged man. "Jiraiya-sama says this man is the one responsible for Naruto's disappearance."

Tsunade smiled wickedly. "Thank you, I'll see to it that he gets exactly what the old pervert sent him here for." The trapped man panicked and struggled to get free, all to no avail.

The toad disappeared and Tsunade pressed her intercom. "Shizune bring me someone from T&I. Tell them I have a new victim ready and waiting."

While she waited Tsunade started to think. _'Okay, Naruto has been in Tea Country before. He should know where to go, and by now he should have been recognized. Either there's a reason I haven't been contacted or he simply isn't there. And if he went to Land of Water and survived that time out at sea, then it's entirely possible he's been captured by Kiri. That would be plausible a lot more than the alternative, but it's harder to do anything about. We can't just march into Kiri and look for Naruto.'_

An idea came to her followed by a gleam in her eye. _'Or can we?'_

* * *

The sun was setting and Hinata and Jiraiya were on their way to the coast.

"What do you think they'll do to Dewa-san in Konoha?" Hinata asked.

"I'm not sure, but only because T&I likes to keep its methods to themselves. They could do anything, but they'll keep him alive in order to learn from him first. After that, they most likely will send him to prison." Jiraiya answered.

Hinata lightly smiled. "I wonder what they'll do to that lowlife. Whatever it is, he deserves it."

_'She has no mercy or pity to those she attributes Naruto's pain towards.'_ Jiraiya noted. _'I wonder how she tolerated people back in Konoha, or what her standards are. I mean, surely she knew to some point Naruto was hurt before, but I don't recall ever hearing about her hurting them back. At least not directly. Maybe this is a new trend in her, maybe I've actually encouraged her to act this way. I better make sure she controls such behavior before she starts becoming a domineering bully.'_

"Let T&I do their job Hinata, it's out of our hands now. Sometimes we have to let someone else decide and deliver punishment even if we'd rather do it ourselves. You don't want to become some kind of avenger do you?" He asked.

"No, but I do want to make sure justice is done." Hinata replied.

"That's why we have a system for it. It may not always work but we can't go around acting like justice is whatever we say it is. That's how avengers get started, they're those types of people. And they always tend to be the type who demand blood for blood. I think Naruto would hate to see you become such a person."

Hinata didn't react right away, but after a moment she sighed. "You're right. I don't think Naruto-kun would be happy comparing me to that jerk Sasuke."

"The Uchiha kid who abandoned Konoha? I heard you barely interacted with him. Why do you dislike him so much if you don't know him?" Jiraiya asked.

"It's not so much him I dislike as it is the situation he was in and how he reacted to it." The Hyuuga replied.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked.

"Take Naruto-kun, forced to live a life of poverty and neglect, and look at Sasuke, given nothing but affection and praise. Both had tragedy in their lives, that I will not refute, but people were so one-sided on how to react to it that it makes me sick. Oh, Sasuke's brother decides to kill everyone except him, and people cannot feel sorry enough for him. Yet Naruto-kun's only crime is being used by the Yondaime and people refuse to feel sorry for him."

Jiraiya's eyes momentarily hardened and his hands clenched into fists . "Naruto wasn't _used_ by the Yondaime little girl."

Hinata put her hands on her waist. "Tell me Jiraiya-sama, was Naruto-kun truly chosen at random? Or did Yondaime-sama have at least _some_ criteria for selecting what baby to use? I find it doubtful that on that day Naruto-kun was the only baby available, so he couldn't have been the only option. Unless the _only_ reason Naruto-kun was chosen was simply because he was the first baby Yondaime-sama could obtain, then he clearly was and still is being used by the Yondaime. Call me disrespectful if you want, but I will not apologize for valuing Naruto-kun more than a man I never met."

_'She doesn't know the whole story behind the sealing, so she can't conclude anything else.'_ Jiraiya told himself. _'Should I tell her the rest? Will that do her any good, or make her more upset?'_

"Hinata, I wasn't there, so I don't know the entire story. I was able to learn a few things thanks to Sarutobi-sensei, the Sandaime, and from talking to others that were present that night. I can tell you the real reason Naruto was chosen to contain the fox if you want, but I don't ever want to hear you devalue the Yondaime's sacrifice."

"No promises." Hinata replied. "You want me to form an opinion on your prized student before I learn anything about him? That's stupid. That's what my father did to me, he made up his mind on me before he learned much about me. I'm not doing the same thing just because you ask me to."

_'That didn't go well, but I can't exactly fault her there.'_ The toad sage noted. "This is a long story. You see, Naruto wasn't truly chosen at random. He's part of the Uzumaki clan, and the members of that clan have unusual chakra among other things. So far they are the only people proven to even safely be made into jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi."

"So you're saying that Naruto-kun isn't the first one." Hinata noted.

Jiraiya nodded. "Right, he isn't. In fact, his mother was the jinchuuriki before him."

"His mother?"

Jiraiya nodded again. "Yes, she was Uzumaki Kushina. One of the best kunoichi ever to come out of Konoha. She was a lot like Naruto, in fact she too had a dream of becoming Hokage, but I don't think she was as serious about it as he was. She was more than happy to be a mother. But unfortunately circumstance stood in the way."

"What circumstances?" She asked

"When Kushina was giving birth to Naruto the seal keeping Kyuubi imprisoned weakened and threatened to give out. Her husband Minato was there to reinforce it, but someone sneaked into the room despite the security seals in place to prevent such a thing. This man wore a mask but eyewitness accounts claim a sharingan was visible."

"So an Uchiha tried to stop Naruto-kun from being born?" Hinata asked.

"On the contrary, this Uchiha wanted Naruto to be born so the seal could break entirely and free Kyuubi so he could control it." Jiraiya corrected.

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Wait, are you saying that the Kyuubi attack was set up? By the Uchiha clan?"

"Not by the clan, by one Uchiha."

"How did he know how to bypass the security? How did he know where to even look for Naruto-kun's mother or what was going to happen to the seal during the birth?"

"I wondered that myself, but there are no answers I can get with my current sources." The toad sannin told his less-than-happy student. "Anyway, thru a series of events I can't properly go into detail on, the Kyuubi was able to emerge outside Konoha and the Yondaime had to lead the fight against it, while Kushina tried to get her son back. It was only because of her Uzumaki bloodline that she was able to be active so soon after giving birth. In fact that same bloodline is the only reason she didn't die when Kyuubi left her. Most jinchuuriki aren't able to survive the extraction."

"Anyway, the battle took a turn for the worse and both of Naruto's parents were going to die from one of Kyuubi's attacks. In their last moments they prepared the seal to defeat Kyuubi to save Konoha. Naruto had already been recovered but they didn't have time to take him away from the battlefield. They had little choice but to seal Kyuubi into Naruto, since Kushina would have died and release Kyuubi again anyway."

Hinata just looked at him for a moment, and Jiraiya hoped she was accepting the harsh truth.

"There's one thing you're not telling me Jiraiya-sama. This Kushina was Naruto-kun's mother, but where was his father?"

That was the part Jiraiya least wanted to reveal, second only to his godfather duties he failed to uphold. He had no doubts that Hinata would react negatively to these two facts. And he was fairly certain if she was angry enough, she'd take it out on him. Sure he was a sannin, but he wasn't going to risk hurting Hinata in self-defense. He could hurt her more than she could hurt him after all. And Tsunade wouldn't take that kindly.

"His father... was there that whole time." The super pervert answered cautiously. _'Seriously, has no one bothered to look up at that monument and see the damn resemblance?'_

"Doing what?"

"He was... I need you to remain calm Hinata. But Naruto's father... is the Yondaime Hokage."

Hinata's eyes widened enough to nearly pop out of her sockets. Then he narrowed them in fury at the implications of such a truth, activating her byakugan in the process. Strangely enough, her expression changed from rage to cautious.

"Hinata?" Jiraiya asked, wondering what was up.

"Jiraiya-sama, we've got company." She whispered. "Bad company. And it's probably too late to get away without a fight."

The white-haired man sighed. "Then let's finish this quickly. Who is the enemy?"

Before Hinata could answer the enemy revealed themselves by trying to attack them from underground. Jiraiya's reflexes and Hinata's heightened senses were what enabled them to get away before the attack came. The attack itself was a giant serpent, not Manda but not far off from him either.

"Orochimaru." Jiraiya said, realizing who the threat was.

The aforementioned sannin appeared atop the snake's snake, with Sasuke standing beside him. "Hello Jiraiya. Are you finally ready to let me kill you?"

"No thanks, but feel free to do so yourself."

Sasuke looked down at the person beside the toad sannin. "Seriously? Your new student is the pathetic Hyuuga heiress? Figures you'd replace one dobe with another."

Hinata didn't respond, she just cracked her knuckles. _'Oh I'm going to enjoy kicking his ass.'_

Right away Jiraiya did a summoning of his own and Gamabunta appeared, both Jiraiya and Hinata on top of him. The giant toad felt their presence and saw the snake.

The toad boss let out a puff of smoke as he frowned deeply.

"Oh great. Well, I do still owe my wife that snakeskin purse so this will suffice." The great toad bemoaned.

"Try and take my skin, I dare you." The snake hissed in a raspy male voice.

"Pfff compared to Manda, you're hardly worth my time."

The amphibian and reptile then clashed in an almost titanic way, and once they did their summoners attacked each other. Jiraiya and Orochimaru squared off while Hinata went right for Sasuke.

"Naruto-kun, wherever you are, know that I am coming for you, and no one, not even this jerk, will get in my way." She whispered to herself.

* * *

Back in Kiri in one of the hot springs there was a loud sneeze followed by a splash.

"You've been sneezing a lot lately Naruto. You sure you don't have a cold?" Shiori asked her teammate as he got out of the water. The two were working on their water-walking exercises per Kasumi's instructions, and Naruto was still struggling a bit on his end.

"I got the medicine remember? How can I have a cold?" He asked, rubbing the water out of his eyes.

"Have you been taking the medicine?" The redhead girl asked.

"No I've been selling it in dark alleys at a mark-up. Of course I've been taking it." He replied sarcastically.

"Well unless someone's been talking about you a lot the past couple of days you've gt something." Shiori noted, crossing her arms and unintentionally making her bust more prominent in her swimsuit. Both of them were wearing swimsuits for the exercise. "Hey boy, my eyes are up here." She warned when she caught his gaze get a little low.

"Doesn't this hot spring encourage peeping?" The whiskered blonde bashfully tried justifying.

"The spring does, but I don't. Now get back to walking on water."

Kasumi stood in the corner and watched her two students. She had seen Naruto perform some amazing jutsu's, his chakra levels were unreal, and he had more endurance than any other shinobi she knew. _'And yet the kid cannot do a simple water walking technique for more than a few minutes.'_ She thought as she shook her head.

* * *

The battle between the summoners had moved to the ground because of the summons no longer being level supports. Orochimaru had strategically moved his fight away from the teens, both to keep Jiraiya from supporting his student as well as to encourage Sasuke to do better in the snake sannin's absence.

"Kukuku you are getting slow in your old age Jiraiya." Orochimaru mocked. "Of course, I wouldn't really know much about that."

"Of course not, because you are nothing more then a disgusting parasite who cheats death by leeching off the life others."

"Ha! I do not cheat death, I master it." The snake sannin replied.

"Hardly, in fact I retract my previous statement. You don't cheat death, you cringe in fear of it like a frightened child."

Orochimaru growled. "Why you insolent…SWALLOW HIM WHOLE!" He ordered his snake.

"Gladly, master." The giant serpent hissed as it lunged toward Jiraiya and Gamabunta.

"Bunta, we need oil and lots of it." Jiraiya called to his friend.

"You got it." The boss toad said as his mouth pouches suddenly expanded for a moment before expelling a large well of black oil towards Orochimaru and the snake.

Jiraiya performed a few quick hand-signs "Fire Style Flames of Hell Jutsu" He said and like a flamethrower, from his mouth shot out a powerful blast of flames that once connected with the oil exploded in a wave of fire.

Both targets got hit. The snake hissed in agony and thrashed on the ground in an effort to quench the flames. That approach failed, and so the giant serpent dispelled itself to return home. Orochimaru appeared to collapse on the ground, but from the burning body emerged an unscathed but slimy Orochimaru.

Hoping to finish him quickly, Gamabunta pulled out his sword and swung it down on the pale sannin. Orochimaru dodged and landed on all fours before standing up. "I got what I wanted, so go ahead and keep your life for now Jiraiya. What little you have left to live that is."

Without another word Orochimaru fled.

"Should we go after him?" Gamabunta asked.

"Tempting, but our first priority should be ensuring Hinata is doing alright."

* * *

Sasuke wisely chose to avoid engaging Hinata in taijutsu, knowing that even though his own brand was good hers had a more fearsome reputation for a reason. So he resorted to ninjutsu from a distance.

"Fire Style Fireball Jutsu." Sasuke used one of his more basic jutsu to see if the white-eyed girl had gotten any better under a sannin as well.

"Protective Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms." Hinata created her original jutsu and with several quick slashing motions managed to cut apart the fireball and effectively swat it away.

Not one to give up so easily, Sasuke used her brief occupation to sneak in a direct taijutsu attack. Hinata caught this and surprised him by using her defensive jutsu as a direct offense. Since her jutsu consisted mainly of two long chakra blades coming out of her palms, she saw no reason they couldn't be used for offense; she just never had reason to use them that way before.

Now she did, and had the perfect test subject.

Keeping her momentum Hinata swung her chakra blades and made several cross-slashes at the Uchiha, hitting him before he could hit her. In his arrogance he hadn't bothered to have his sharingan already active for fighting her.

_'Damn, what did she do?'_ Sasuke asked himself as he backed away, his shirt torn and some bleeding cuts apparent underneath. He turned on his sharingan and saw the chakra blades, but since the jutsu was already active it was too late for him to copy it if he could.

Not that he wanted to, Uchiha's were told from a young age that trying to copy the style of the Hyuuga was an insult to each and every Uchiha past present and future. The Uchiha would only copy what was important or useful, not what was 'inferior'. And while the Uchiha didn't deny that the juuken was effective, it was useless in their hands and therefore useless in their minds and forbidden from being copied. Not as a sign of courtesy to a fellow clan, but as a matter of pride.

Hinata grinned. _'Good, it can hurt someone if I need it to. Let's find out how much so.'_ With that she got the idea to reposition her arms so the chakra blades were pointing forward from her, and ran to Sasuke as if to skewer him.

Sasuke was much less eager to find out the result of her attack. With his sharingan he was able to see her attack clearly and anticipate where she was going. Thinking he had the upper hand, he waited until it was too late for her to change her course, and ducked under her arms and twisted his body to move around her, bringing himself by her exposed side. Right then he hit her in the back of the head, forcing her to fall to the ground.

Sasuke planted his foot on Hinata's back with a lot of force. "You actually thought that you could defeat me?"

Hinata, barely dazed thanks to her lifetime of taking hits, turned her head to glare at the boy she once merely disliked and now despised. "For Naruto-kun, I _will_ defeat you."

Sasuke looked quite amused. "For Naruto? That useless-even-for-a-dobe? You actually think you can beat him for his sake?"

"I know I can." Hinata replied before doing a few hand signs under her body where Sasuke couldn't see them. "Ninja Art Hair Jizo."

All of a sudden Hinata's hair got sharp and longer, rushing at the boy holding her down like countless quills. Her hair had originally been at near-shoulder length, grown from her hime-style cut in preparation for this jutsu, and now it was the length of her body and fueled by chakra to grow quicker.

Sasuke was only briefly caught off guard and thus only received a few extra cuts on his right arm before he got away. Hinata got back on her feet, looking like a porcupine on two legs, and rushed at him with her normal juuken ready.

"I told you, for Naruto-kun I will defeat you."

The Uchiha boy growled, enraged that a girl he had considered to be weak had actually injured him. "It is going to take more then some cheap tricks to defeat me." He snarled as he withdrew several kunai and threw them at her with deadly speed and accuracy.

Using her byakugan Hinata was able to dodge the attack with ease, however, she couldn't avoid all of them and one of the kunai actually got her in the side of the leg, cutting thru the pants and causing a pretty bad wound.

Sasuke smirked like a madman. "Got you now." He said as he charged at her. Hinata charged back at him, ignoring the pain in her leg as best she could.

The result of their clash would never be known, for before they could strike each other Orochimaru showed up, grabbed Sasuke by the collar, and took off with him within seconds of each other. Sasuke barely had time to protest.

"That was weird." Hinata said, stopping in place before sitting down to see to her wound.

Not too long after that Jiraiya appeared with Gamabunta, and the old man approached his student. "You're alright are you?"

"Yeah, it hurts but I'll heal. Why did they just leave like that?"

"I don't know, Orochimaru said he got what he came for. Maybe they were distracting us while one of his lackeys did something he didn't want us interfering with. Or maybe he was trying to see something in us."

"Like what?" Hinata asked.

"I don't know, but I don't think this fight was ever truly about killing us. If Orochimaru wanted that, we'd still be fighting them."

Both sannin and apprentice asked themselves the same question, what was the purpose of that encounter then?

* * *

"Achoo!" Splash. "Dammit not again."

"Gee Naruto you sure do suck today."

"Is it my fault I keep sneezing?" He asked, a bit angry at the fact he had seemingly developed a cold.

"Control it better. It would be pretty pathetic for a ninja to die in battle because of a badly timed sneeze." Shiori retorted.

"Ha ha." Naruto said sarcastically as he pulled himself out of the water.

It had been nothing but training for a while. But instead of answering to just one sensei, Naruto now had to answer to three. Kasumi, Utakata, and Kaji.

Kasumi continued to teach Naruto his ninja skills while she had the time.

Utakata was going to teach him how to harness the powers of the Kyuubi.

Kaji was also teaching Naruto how to master the art of swordsmanship.

And Naruto was exhausted.

Every single day he was running around the village to meet up with each teacher. Early in the morning, literally at the crack of dawn Naruto had to go to the dojo to train with Kaji, which would not have been so bad if it were not for the fact tat Naruto was currently in the beginners class with a bunch of 8 year olds. It was embarrassing but Kaji promised that as his skills improved Naruto would move up the ladder.

By mid-afternoon he then had to race over to the training grounds for training with Kasumi and Shiori. He was always the last one to arrive considering the training ground chosen was right on the other side of Kiri. The moment he arrived it would either be sparring matches, practicing their jutsu, or weapon skills.

Then by early evening he had to rush over to a small shrine where Utakata was staying for Bijuu training lessons. Naruto would run up the many steps leading to the shrine and find that Utakata would be laying stretched out in the shrine either taking a cat-nap or blowing bubbles absently. Of course their training was hardly that, it mainly consisted of Naruto sitting around waiting for Utakata to finally say something and when he did it was usually something like "To gain the power of the bijuu you must first find a balance with it." When Naruto asked for more in-depth information on this Utakata would first sigh like it was such a bother to explain it and then go back to blowing bubbles. At least his other apprentice Hotaru always had dinner available for Naruto to make him feel better. That was quickly becoming the highlight of his day.

By the time this was over it was already very late in the evening, Naruto would trudge back to his home and collapse onto his bed, to tired to even get out of his clothes. He would wake up a few hours later with his muscles still sore and had to start the process all over again.

This wear-and-tear was starting to take its toll on him; Kasumi had started to see it a few days ago. But now she was certain this training regiment was not working out for him. This development of a cold, lack of focus, and his irritability lately was a clear sign of a lack of rest.

_'This has to stop.'_ She thought with deep concern for her student. She then clapped her hands. "Alright that is enough for today."

Naruto sighed then left the water to get redressed. "Great. See you two tomorrow I have to go to Ut- GAHHH!" He was stopped from walking to the door when Kasumi grabbed the scruff of his shirt he had just put back on and pulled him back.

"_You_ aren't going to do more training today." She said.

"But Sensei, I have to." Naruto said, not understanding why he was being prevented to leave.

"What you are going to do is take a day off." She said as she brought out her wallet and took out some ryo from it. "Here, the two of you go get some lunch on me." She said as she gave the money to Shiori.

"But…but…but..." Naruto said, then stopped. "Achoo!"

"No buts, I am going to have a talk with Utakata-san and Kaji-sama. The two of you go enjoy the day like normal people. That is an order."

Both her students nodded and then quickly exited. This left Kasumi alone, she quickly cracked her neck and let out a sigh, time to deal with her two competitors.

* * *

Shiori watched in amazement as Naruto finished his third bowl of ramen and called for an immediate fourth helping.

They had arrived at the team's favorite ramen stand not 10 minutes ago yet Naruto was eating like he had been trapped on a desert island for a year.

"You know if you don't slow down you are going to choke one of these days." She told him as she calmly sipped her tea.

Naruto swallowed a large mouthful before speaking. "I can't help it. Every single day it has been training training training; if it weren't for Hotaru-chan I'd be living off of power bars and water. So let me indulge for once." He said as he took long gulps of his drink while his fourth bowl of ramen was set down in front of him.

Shiori just rolled her eyes and right before Naruto took a bite of his meal she smacked him across the back of his head.

"OWWWWWW!"

"Being overworked doesn't excuse bad manners. Eat like a human being, not an animal."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at the girl and for the briefest moment he suddenly had a vision of a pink sakura blossom and the feeling like someone had just punched him in the cheek. But he nonetheless heeded her advice and started to eat slower, actually savoring the noodles.

"Sensei was right by the way. You do look like you need a break." Shiori added as she took a bite of her own noodles.

"I know, but I want to get stronger… like you." Naruto commented.

That caught Shiori unprepared. "Like me?"

"Duh. You're excellent with your sword, you can do really powerful jutsu, and you mastered the impossible long-term water-walking technique. You can stand on water for hours, me just ten minutes at best. You're an awesome ninja." He complimented.

Shiori just stared at Naruto for a moment until she felt a warm blush start to form on her face causing her to look away from him. _'He just called me an awesome ninja.' _She thought happily but then she tried to refocus her thoughts. _'Whoa, keep it cool girl. Of course you are an awesome ninja. You did not need him to tell you that.' _But then she thought, '_Ahh but he sounded like he genuinely meant it'_

Naruto looked at his teammate as he continued to eat, wondering if he had said something wrong to make her act so weird. After he had finished his fourth bowl he finally asked. "Uhh Shiori are you okay?"

Shiori slowly turned back around to look at Naruto, her face having returned to normal color. "Yeah, I'm alright." She said slowly.

Naruto smiled. "That's good." He then took a sip from his drink.

Shiori was silent for a bit, as if she was contemplating something important within her mind until finally…

"Hey Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"You want to come over to my house?"


	27. Chapter 27

Be it curiosity or surprise or maybe just politeness, Naruto chose to accept Shiori's offer. Not to say he had the faintest idea why she made it, but he felt refusing would have been a bad idea.

In all his time being partnered to the red-haired girl, Naruto had learned one thing about Shiori's home: She didn't like to talk about it. He knew nothing about where she lived, what she did when she was home, or even who she lived with.

_'Is she an orphan?'_ Naruto asked himself, seeing that as certainly possible and for some reason that brought a flash of something in his mind, something that made him sad. But he quickly shook it off. _'I'm for all legal purposes an orphan too, so why should she keep it from me? I couldn't laugh at her for it since I'm in the same situation. Is she just a private person?'_

The trip to Shiori's home took them both to the business sector of Kiri instead of the residential area. They passed by several shops and kiosks, and some of the merchants in the area waved to Shiori and greeted her verbally. The redhead returned the greetings in kind, though Naruto noticed she didn't make any effort to do more than just be polite.

Eventually they came to a two-story shop that had no name on it, just an orange stripe about a meter wide looping around the building where the first floor and second floor connected, and a wooden plaque hanging from a pole depicting one eye closed and another eye open, as if someone was winking.

"Well, this is home." Shiori admitted, not sounding rather enthusiastic about it. She said it more like she was telling Naruto where the bathroom was.

"I take it you live above the store itself?" Naruto asked.

"It's not a store. We don't sell things here." Shiori admited. "We take in damaged or old swords and refine them. We're a sword repair center, more of a forge than a store."

"So your family repairs swords? Then why couldn't you repair Kasumi-sensei's?"

The look in Shiori's eyes was difficult for Naruto to identify, but it reminded him of the times Hikaru had been mentioned. "We only work with normal weapons, not special ones like hers. A specialist is needed for her Bakupiri, like Kaji-sama."

"Oh." The whiskered blonde simply replied, not sure what else could be said.

Without another word, Shiori opened the door, causing a bell to ring. "It's just me." She called out.

The entry room was small and bare, sort of like it's sole purpose was to give people a place to take their shoes off before going any further. The walls were bare, lacking any decorations and the only things to see was a shoji door and a barred square hole in the wall, from which a light stream of steam emitted.

"This is where people come in to drop off and pick up their weaponry." Shiori said to Naruto, noting his confusion at the lack of scenery. "It's pointless to have the room be any bigger, and there's no need for them to see the forge itself." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Ah Shiori, you're early for once." An older feminine voice called out from the next room.

Before Naruto could ask for identification, the screen door opened, giving him his answer. There stood a woman that looked a lot like an older version of Shiori, but still young and gorgeous. She has long red hair tied into a ponytail and covered by a grey bandanna, amber eyes and was currently wearing a grey kimono that looked covered in soot and sweat.

Upon seeing Naruto this woman's eyes brightened and her mouth curled into a coy grin. "Ooh, you brought a boy over? And here I thought you'd be a jounin by the time you tried that." Shiori just frowned, but the woman ignored it and politely bowed to Naruto. "Hello, I'm Miya, Shiori's older sister. Welcome. Are you here for business or just visiting?"

"Umm... Shiori just invited me over." Naruto admitted, feeling a bit uncomfortable under her gaze despite the lack of negativity in her expression.

"So I was right eh?" Miya said, looking at her sister with a grin.

"Don't start Miya, I'm in no mood." Shiori said.

"You're never in the mood and it doesn't change the fact I'm right." Miya said good-naturedly then looked back to Naruto. "Let me guess, you're that new teammate of hers? I was wondering when I'd finally be introduced to you. I wanted to say hi sooner, but that would have just embarrassed Shiori more."

"Hi, I'm... well, I'm not sure if it's my real name or not, but you can call me Naruto." The whiskered blonde told her.

"You look tired. Why don't you come in and get comfortable?" Miya offered, holding the door open for him to enter.

"Umm…thanks" Naruto said with a smile as he stepped through the door.

Shiori however stayed behind for a moment and looked at her sister. "Is she...?"

Miya nodded. "Don't worry, she's asleep. I don't think anything except a world war would wake her up."

"Umm... is someone else here?" Naruto asked, confused. Shiori gave him an annoyed look and Miya's expression was more of 'better stop there' kind. "Never mind. Can I see the swords?"

Miya smiled. "Sure. Want to see our family swords?"

"Miya." Shiori started.

"Oh relax, I'm not going to show him how we make them or anything. Just some examples." The older redhead said before looking back at the blonde. "I assume you've seen Shiori's blade."

"Sort of. It's hard to see a clear blade." Naruto answered.

Miya smiled. "Good, that's kind of the idea. Since the blade is hard to see, it's hard for the enemy to know where we're striking since people have a habit of focusing their sights more on the actual blade of the sword than anything else. So even though they're not actually invisible, they bother the enemy's vision enough to get the desired result."

"How do you make them clear?" Naruto asked.

"That's a family secret." Miya answered, then turned to her sister. "I should get back to work. Go ahead and show your guest around and do whatever you brought him here for. Just... keep him away from her if you can."

Shiori nodded. "Definitely." Before Naruto could ask for clarification, Shiori led him into a different room. Miya smiled and returned to the forge. _'I hope things get better for her. Shiori needs some happiness since she sees it so rarely in her own life.'_

* * *

Shiori brought Naruto to the second floor, the residential part of the building. Naruto saw she was rather cautious, as if she expected to be attacked within her own home.

The residence looked normal, one main room being the entry point filled with a brown couch, an endtable, and a tv opposite the couch. On the right side a small kitchen could be seen, same with some kind of extra room that Naruto couldn't identify from the entry point. There was a hall between the front room and kitchen that went in back, with one door visible but clearly more past the corner.

The only decorative thing in the area was a sword displayed on the wall. It wasn't a clear one like Shiori's, no this one was colored a mix of onyx black and steel grey, like the two minerals were mixed together while making it. Also it wasn't a katana, but bigger and shaped like a scimitar, with a two-handed handled, and held in place on a plaque. And despite this, it was clearly meant for battle, not display. The first hint was the leather on the handle was worn from being held so much, not to mention the luster of the blade was dulled while the blade itself had a few chips from wear and tear.

On impulse Naruto reached out towards the sword and suddenly out of nowhere, Shiroi's hand shot out and grabbed his own in a vice grip.

"Do. Not. Touch. That." She said, emphasizing every word and there was an intense look in her eyes that sent a shiver down Naruto's body as he nodded slowly.

"Okay… I won't."

Shiori stared at him for another moment and then let go of his hand. "I'm sorry…but that's my father's sword." She said gesturing up towards the picture above the sword that he had somehow missed before.

Naruto flexed his hand as he looked at the picture and then at the sword. "No, I am sorry. I should not touch things that do not belong to me." He said with a small smile, he then gestured to the picture above the sword. "That's your father?"

Shiroi nodded, withholding a snide comment she was tempted to make.

"Huh, you look a lot like him."

The red-haired girl finally did smile a bit and Naruto looked at the sword again, this time making sure not to touch it. "Is this one of Kaji's swords?"

Shiori nodded again. "Yes, it's called the Hanmā. You put just a little chakra into this sword and then you could reduce a rock to pebbles and a tree to splinters with just one swipe. Though it's impossible to wield unless you possess a steady and firm hand. Because the vibrations from the attack could actually destroy your sword hand otherwise. No one but my father or maybe Kaji-sama could use it." Shiori said proudly.

Naruto smiled, having actually found a topic that made Shiori brighten up. "Your father sounds like a strong man."

However that brightness quickly faded then and depressed look returned to her face "He was." She said absently.

"Was?"

"My father… he was a great and noble man. When the Yondaime Mizukage Yagura began the killing off of all bloodline limits in the Village, my father spoke out against it. He said his loyalty to the Mizukage did not extend to include genocide. He had joined the revolutionaries that helped overthrow Yagura and end his reign of terror once and for all." A smile formed on her face.

"He had been hailed as a hero among the other revolutionaries. I can remember how when I was just a little girl all I could ever think about was being a great swordsman and a ninja just like him. You could say he's my motivation."

Naruto just stood there listening and though part of him did not want to bring up the next part, the other part of him wanted to know. "What happened to him?"

A shadow fell across Shiori's face. "It was a few years ago, a celebration was being hosted to commemorate the downfall of Yagura. The Lady Mizukage was in the crowd and my father had been chosen to be one of her bodyguards that day." She paused for a moment as she looked at the photo. "I can remember that day so clearly, I was dressed in a cute pink kimono, I had just won a gold fish in a carnival game. Then… the explosion came."

"Explosion?" Naruto asked

"A group of people, still loyal to Yagura and the old ways, had plotted to kill the Godaime Mizukage to avenge Yagura. They set off a bomb as a distraction. People were running and screaming, there was fire and smoke. I can remember my father and the other swordsmen surrounding the Mizukage to protect her… and then I remember seeing other ninja, the supporters of Yagura appeared out of nowhere and attacked."

Once again Shiori paused as she thought about the memory, she seemed to be resisting the urge to cry, but her eyes remained dry. "The Mizukage was kept safe and those insurgents were defeated, but there had been causalities. Among them had been my father. He died doing his duty."

Naruto, hoping he wasn't being inappropriate, took her hand in his. "At least he died honorably and heroically. The best way a ninja can die."

Shiori smiled and gently squeezed the blonde's hand back. "Naruto-kun I…"

"Ehemm." A voice suddenly interrupted.

Both Naruto and Shiori turned to the direction of the voice and saw that standing by the doorway to the next part of the home was a woman.

She was in her late 30s maybe early 40s; her hair was auburn and only just showing signs of grey, at the moment it was currently held up as a messy bun. Messy in the sense that she hadn't bothered to brush it before putting it up in a bun. Naruto could immediately tell this woman had been drinking, for there were dark lines under her bloodshot eyes and she was leaning against the frame of the wall greatly to keep her balance. Not to mention that she looked like she had just gotten out of bed.

Shiori narrowed her eyes at the woman and muttered just loud enough to hear "Mother."

The woman grunted an acknowledgment at Shiori and then her eyes drifted over to Naruto, and after quickly giving him a once over. "Who is this?" Her words came out slightly slurred.

"Naruto, Ma'am." The blonde said respectively and gave a small bow.

"My new teammate." Shiori added.

"Oh goody, another ninja." Shiori's mother said dryly as she walked over to the cupboard and took out a glass. "Like we don't have enough of those in the world already."

"Enough." Shiori said without shouting. "I don't care what your mood is right now, I have company over and you will behave."

Shiori's mother actually glared at her daughter. "Don't you talk like that to me girl. I'm the parent here not you."

Shiori stopped her foot in anger and clenched her fists. "Parent? You? The only thing here that gets your attention is the liquor cabinet!"

The older woman's response was to hurl the bottle she had in one hand at the young teenage girl, which Shiori dodged causing the bottle to shatter on the wall behind her. If one looked closely at her one would think that this wasn't the first time Shiori had been under attack like this.

"What the hell?" Naruto yelling. "Why would you throw something like that at your own daughter?"

"Shut up scum. Leave me alone and go ruin someone elses life. That's all you barbarians are good for anyway."

"Better to be a barbarian than a good-for-nothing drunk like you!" Shiori screamed before running out the door.

Naruto looked to his fleeing teammate then sent another look at her mother, one that was trying not to be angry but not doing a good job at it. _'Now I understand why she never talks about her home.'_

"Unless you plan on replacing the whiskey you made me waste, get the hell out of here boy." Shiori's mother said in a way that could easily be taken as threatening.

"Why do you hate ninja so much?" Naruto asked.

"None of your business."

"It is my business. Your daughter is a shinobi, your husband was a shinobi, and-" He was cut off by another bottle being thrown at him. This would have hit him in the face and possibly given him a concussion had he not caught it with his hand. His hand stung from the impact, but it was better than being hit in the face.

"I said get lost!"

_'Obviously her family is a sore spot for her, meaning she still loves them but is too wrapped up in her own grief to show it. Probably never learned how to deal with her husband dying and it's ruined her relationship with Shiori.'_ Naruto analysed from what he heard and saw. "Fine, I'll leave, but one last thing. Shiori remembers her father as a hero, do you want her to remember you as _this_?"

Before the woman could answer Naruto left, but made it clear he wasn't afraid of her attacking him from behind with another bottle.

Shiori's mother waited until she heard the door close before she sighed and reached for another bottle and poured it into her glass. But for the first time in a long time, she didn't guzzle it down right away.

* * *

Shiroi stormed out of the house/shop fuming; walking down the street without any clear destination in her mind. _'Maybe I would just walk straight into the sea.'_

She hated her mother, she ruined everything, _everything_. She finally got the courage to ask a friend, a boy even, back to her home and was even starting to feel good about it and then…BOOM, her drunk of a mother just had to screw it all up.

_'Naruto is probably never going to want to come over again. Hell he probably won't even want to talk to me after this.'_

She felt many things at that moment. First was rage, she wanted to just find something and break it. Second was sadness, she had kept her tears back when she had been talking about her father but she did not think she would be able to hold back the flood this time. Third was embarrassment, she wanted to find a hole to crawl into and just curl up into a ball.

And she might have done one if not all three of those things had she not felt a hand suddenly grab her shoulder.

She spun around ready to strike whoever the hand belong to, but she stopped when she saw the concerned blue eyes of Naruto gazing at her. "Naruto?" _'He came for me? He doesn't never want to see me again.'_

"It's not your fault." He said.

"What?"

"It's not your fault. You just wanted to be nice to me, and your mom pushed you. It's not your fault that this went wrong."

Shiori smiled warmly at his comfort, and a couple of tears managed to escape. "Idiot, I know it's not my fault. It's hers." Luckily her tone wasn't accusing. Instead she hugged him for a sense of comfort and stability.

"Let me guess, after your father died she got depressed and turned to drinking as a way to escape, and she's never really tried to stop escaping?" Naruto asked, not returning the hug but not discouraging it either.

Shiori nodded remorsefully. "I can't remember the last time she was sober, or kind. I don't think she remembers how to be anything but an angry drunk. That woman... hasn't been my mother for years. Yet every night I have to go home to that, and it makes me want to be anywhere else. Miya's the only good part, without her I'd have probably killed my mom by now."

"Why don't you move?" Naruto asked.

"We can't, Miya needs the forge to earn our income. And the forge is unfortunately in Mom's name. So unless she dies or signs it over to Miya we're stuck with her."

"And I take it she refuses to give it to Miya?" Naruto asked.

Shiori nodded. "Yeah, if it were up to her the forge would be burned to the ground, as a message to stop supporting ninja, but she can't get any work herself and needs some income for her booze, so she has to endure it."

"If she blames ninja for everything wrong in her life, then why does she still live in Kiri?" Naruto asked.

Shiori sighed but didn't look bothered. "Sometimes I forget you're still learning. You can't just leave a hidden village and get away with it. Not even civilians, anyone and everyone who lives here has knowledge about it that enemies would love to get their hands on. Things like our security patterns or the most effective places to strike, or even what routes we use for trade or travel. Trust me Naruto, no one gets to just leave a hidden village. Mom's stuck here, even if she destroys every brain cell that knows anything about Kiri."

Naruto didn't know what to say anymore, so he just wrapped his arms around her to return the hug. Judging from her continued hold on him, it was just what she needed.

"Naruto, I don't want to go back there yet. Think we could maybe go to your place instead? Until she passes out again?" She requested.

"Sure, that works." He said before releasing her then leading her to his residence. "By the way, what exactly were you bringing me over for in the first place?"

Shiori shrugged. "Nothing really, kinda gets boring when I'm alone. I figured I had nothing to do and you had nothing to do, so why not kill time together?"

Naruto smiled. "Why not indeed?"

* * *

Kaji had been sitting outside in the rock garden in deep meditation when he heard footsteps approaching, two different people.

"Kasumi if you broke your sword again you are going to be leaving here with lumps on your head." The blind man said as he reached over and took his cane.

Kasumi smiled. "No Kaji-sama, I did not break my sword, there is a matter I need to discuss with you."

Kaji got to his feet and leaned on his cane. "Utakata boy, stop being so silent and make yourself known." He said and tapped his cane on the ground hard.

The container for the six-tailed bijuu raised a brow. "How did you know it was me?"

Kaji wrinkled his nose. "You still smell like soap, even after being gone for so long."

Utakata rolled his eyes. "And you're still a grumpy old bastard."

Kasumi looked at both men and sighed. "If we could take this inside please. It's about to rain."

The two of them went inside the dojo, which was currently empty since Kaji was not teaching any students at the moment. The two of them gathered in the center of the room and sat down on some cushion pillows.

"What's on your mind Kasumi?" Kaji asked.

"Kaji-sama, Utakata-san, I believe we should discuss a change in Naruto-kun's training regiment." Kasumi started, looking at the two older men.

"Why? You dropping him as a student or something?" Utakata asked, blowing a few bubbles absently into the air.

Kasumi shook her head. "No not at all, though I am going to take a sabbatical soon for my wedding. Anyway, looking at him today, I'm fearing we've been pushing him too far too soon."

"Ninja work is supposed to be fast-paced and full of work." Kaji stated sagely. Outside rain started to lightly fall.

"I'm aware, but in our effort to get Naruto-kun up to speed with everyone else his age I fear we've basically been trying to cram several years worth of lessons into a matter of weeks. Such a workload is stressing him out and running him ragged. Shinobi or not, Naruto-kun is still only human and needs time to rest to let his body recover."

Utakata held his tongue; certain that mentioning Naruto was a jinchuuriki would only hurt the discussion. Besides, Mei had ordered him to remain silent on it and he wasn't about to defy her while she was close by. Lava and boiling substances beat bubbles after all. "And after he recovers, what then?"

Kasumi looked at both men. "I am sure all of us know that two tigers cannot live on one mountain together, let alone three. And one student cannot have three separate teachers."

"I agree, but as I recall each of us have been given orders from the Mizukage herself to train this boy. So perhaps a compromise can be made." Kaji suggested. Outside the rain was getting a bit heavier.

"Right, we will cut him into three. I will get the head, Kaji can have the arms, and Kasumi can have the legs." Utakata said, from the tone of the voice, he almost sounded serious.

"Close but not exactly." Kasumi said. "My plan is this, we each get Naruto-kun for one month. And in that time we try to put as much training into him as possible."

"Impossible, one month each would not be enough time for him to master all that needs to be learned." Utakata complained.

"Not necessarily. I have seen the boy's capability, he is a fast learning and quick to adapt. I think that with some one-on-one personal training he could quickly master many techniques." Kaji stated.

"Exactly. I think this would be the best way for all of us to teach Naruto-kun, and the best for him so that he does not have a breakdown." Kasumi nodded.

"Who gets him first though?" Utakata asked

"I do. I am the primary sensei after all. Besides my wedding is coming up soon and as I said before I will be taking some time off after that. I will keep Naruto for the rest of the month and then Kaji gets him next, finally you Utakata."

"Why do I get him last?"

"Because you are the one who is least interested in teaching."

Utakata raised a brow and then nodded at a moment. "Fair enough."

Kaji rubbed his chin. "It has been a while since I trained a student one on one. I hope the boy can survive my methods."

"Your methods are tame compared to what I can put him thru." Utakata commented in good spirit.

"Men this isn't a contest. And remember the whole point of this is to go at a pace Naruto-kun can handle, not just trade one burden for another." Kasumi reminded them.

"Right, but don't forget that when he shows he can handle a faster pace we're going to see to it he gets it." Kaji informed.

Kasumi nodded. "That's fair, just don't treat him like he's supposed to already be a jounin."

"Works for me. Personally I prefer the slow pace." Utakata commented.

"And how is that working for you and Hotaru?" Kasumi asked.

"Shut up." Utakata stated, making Kasumi chuckle.

"I thought so." Kasumi chided.

"Where is the boy by the way?" Kaji asked.

"Getting some rest. At least I hope so."

* * *

"Damn, what a storm." Naruto complained as he entered his apartment, soaking wet from the downpour which was pretty bad by Kiri standards but tame by Ame's.

Shiori wiped some water out of her face and moved some hair out of her eyes. In Naruto's opinion her hair really looked good when wet for some reason. "I need to dry off. Can I use your shower?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You want to take a shower to get dry?"

She playfully swatted his shoulder. "No, to get warm then dry. I hate being wet from the rain." She then turned to his washroom and went inside.

"Alright, I'll just stay here and be wet while you get comfortable." Naruto jested while he went to one of his apartment's hall closets to get a towel to dry off with.

"Umm... Naruto? There's no towel in here." Shiori called from inside the room.

"I keep them here. Just a second." He grabbed a second one and opened the door to the washroom. "Here you..."

He paused because Shiori had apparently already started to undress for her shower. Her grey skirt and black shorts were at her ankles showing her white panties, and her grey top was in her arms showing off her black undershirt which showed off her breasts better now. On her arms and legs her bandage wrapping still remained, and her sword rested on the counter by the sink safe in its sheath besides her hitai-ate and yellow hairclip.

"... go?" Naruto finished as he held out the towel then dropped it and closed the door before Shiori could react. And to be safe he went into his bedroom and closed the door behind him. Images of a faceless angry girl kept flashing in his mind, ready to turn his head inside-out.

_'Oh I hope Shiori doesn't try to kill me.__' _Soon he heard the shower activate, and got confused._ 'Wait, she's not going to do anything to me? Or is she just waiting for when the shower is over?'_

* * *

_'What was that?' _Shiori asked herself while she rinsed her body._ 'I mean, yeah he didn't really see anything, heck he saw more when I was in my swimsuit, but why did that seem... different?' _She paused a bit to lather up some shampoo and scrub her hair._ 'What's bothering me the most isn't the fact that he saw me, but that... I wasn't bothered by him seeing me.'_

Normally Shiori, and most girls, would feel compelled to scream and maybe attack a boy who walked in on them undressing, degree of attack depending on the girl herself. Shiori always thought that the only boy she would want to have see her like this would have been Hikaru back when he was alive, and never someone else, even Naruto.

_'And yet... when he saw me... I didn't mind.'_ Shiori admitted, washing the shampoo out of her hair. _'Even if he kept looking I probably wouldn't have minded. I wouldn't have kept undressing, no way, but... I wouldn't have been upset over it. Am I just worn out because of Mom, or...?' _

She stopped herself, afraid to finish that thought.


	28. Chapter 28

Given the geographical location of Kiri, rain storms were very common. Their duration and intensity varied. Sometimes a extremely heavy rainstorm would only last for a few minutes while a light drizzle could last for hours. These large number of rainfalls is what contributed to the thick mists that engulfed the village.

And in a dark room the only sound that could be heard was the rain pattering on the windows. No lights were on, save for the ones on the appliances that let you know they were plugged in, and the light from the outside street lights was coming in from the windows. Some of that light was settling on a woman sitting at a table, a woman who looked like she had crawled down someone's throat and died.

Her name was Doguro Natta, but she hadn't been called that in years. Yamime-san was the most common thing people called her when she occasionally went out. It was meant to be respectful of her loss, but to her it was just a bitter reminder. As for her children, her oldest still called her mom in the 'kaa-san' sense, but her youngest preferred to use the 'ofukuro' sense.

Her titles meant nothing to her usually. Little meant anything to her. What was the purpose of meaning in a life doomed to never have a happy ending? Happiness for her was lost long ago, so all she could do was dull the pain of the knowledge that for her the light at the end of the tunnel was extinguished.

Natta had once been such an optimistic woman, especially when she was a child. She had always dreamed of living the good life, where she'd have a loving husband and adorable children, at least one girl, and never have to be involved in a war. She became a ninja like most girls her age mostly because it was what most kids did, and fortunately she was part of the first class to graduate after the infamous Zabuza incident, meaning her class wasn't required to kill each other.

Her career as a shinobi had been decent, no one died on any mission she had been on, and she managed to make it to the rank of chuunin while young. She fell in love, got married, and had two girls instead of just one, and overall life seemed perfect for her. She was never what people considered wealthy, but she never based happiness on money. No, for her that was based on a lack of worry.

Then that all changed one day, the day her husband died.

Recalling that day even now made Natta feel like her blood froze. Her husband's death was still vivid in her mind every time she closed her eyes. Vivid enough that she couldn't sleep afterwards, not without something to block out the dreams. Too bad that out of all the jutsu in the world, not one of them was an anti-dream one.

When her husband died, a part of Natta died with him. Her hopes, her future, the childhood dream of a perfect carefree life. As well as her idealism, kept in tact throughout her career because she had been one of the lucky few shinobi to never encounter the death of a comrade on the job. So she had no ability to cope with the death of a loved one, on the job or otherwise. She had gotten lucky in that regard, but in that luck she forgot that no ninja can be spared tragedy forever. The very nature of the job meant that sooner or later one must face something far beyond the realm of their comfort zone. It had taken her longer than others to get there, and once she had, she didn't have a comfort zone to go back to anymore.

There were no more restless nights. There was no more warm bed. There was no more 'I love you'. All there was anymore for her was loneliness. A loneliness that even her children couldn't resolve for her. Because of that loneliness, her children were practically strangers to her now, but for her that was a good thing. It was good because otherwise they would remind her of her husband far too much. Especially her youngest one, the one who took after her husband the most, and was the last one to truly see her husband alive.

Her youngest child was a painful reminder of Natta's own tragedy, painful enough that Natta could barely be in the same room as her anymore without feeling like fate was mocking her.

"Why couldn't it have been her instead on that day?" The lonely woman asked herself remorsefully.

The next thing she knew, someone had grabbed her from behind, turned her around, and slapped her across the face.

"I don't freaking believe you! Are you that self-absorbed that you'd wish death on your own daughter just to stop feeling sorry for yourself?" The newcomer all but shouted in rage.

Natta only now saw who this person was, it was her other daughter, Miya.

"Look at yourself! Look at what you've become! You were once someone Shiori and I were proud to call our mother, and now, I wouldn't let you set foot in my house if there was a baby in it! You were someone I once wanted to be like you, but now you're pathetic! If Dad were alive today, he wouldn't recognize you anymore!"

Natta just blinked. "You've never spoken to me like that before Miya." Miya indeed had never raised her voice to Natta before, as if respecting her wish to be left alone.

"Well maybe I should have a long time ago. Maybe if you had been given some tough love instead of enabling then you wouldn't have become this sorry excuse of a mother." Miya declared.

"You don't understand. I-"

"Save it Mom, save your excuses for someone who hasn't heard them before." Miya cut her off. "Yes you lost your husband, but you're not the only one who lost him. He was my father, Shiori and I miss him too. Shiori actually saw him die right in front of her while you and I were dealing with another problem elsewhere. Shiori's been more traumatized by that day then you could ever claim to be, but you don't see her milking it for all it's worth."

"You're pathetic, your heart gets broken once and you don't even try to put it back together." Miya continued. "But Shiori's much stronger than you. She grieved for Dad, she still does, but she uses his memory as a motive to get stronger, to ensure she doesn't have to see someone else die in front of her again."

Natta rolled her eyes. "And look what that got her. Her own teammate died, so she should realize there's no happy ending for shinobi."

Miya slapped her again. "Real life isn't a stupid fairy tale Mom, get the hell over it! Not every frog becomes a prince, not every prince is charming, not every good guy can beat the bad guy! And how dare you make light of Shiori's tragedy when it's so similar to your own?"

"I have every right to make light of it." Natta insisted. "Shiori doesn't understand my pain at all. I lost the love of my life. She just lost a mere teammate. Teammates are as replaceable as broken appliances, but true love is once in a lifetime. Comparing her pain to mine is like comparing a scrapped knee to a heart attack."

Miya sighed in frustration and shook her head. "You are such a martyr. Say what you will about Shiori, at least she has the courage to keep on living. At least she has the courage to change things, rather than hide in the dark relying on liquor to make the bad things go away. And at least she's trying to find some happiness in her life, rather than just waiting to die."

"She's young and naive, she doesn't know any better." Natta quietly commented.

"Mom, Shiori cared about Hikaru. Maybe it wasn't true love, but he meant something to her. He meant a lot. Before you devalue her further, are you aware that her former teammate died in her arms? Just mere seconds after she got to him?" Miya asked.

Natta gave a shocked look, since Shiori never gave her information on her personal life anymore. Heck the only reason she knew Hikaru died was because Miya told her, hoping the older woman would offer some sympathy to the young kunoichi. But the shock faded. "Which only proves me right, shinobi never have happy endings."

"That wasn't the ending for Shiori. You know why? Because she won't let it be. Mom, happy endings come _after_ a struggle, not before. No fairy tale ever went 'Once upon a time there was someone who never had any troubles at all and never would'. Happy endings are earned with effort, not given by default. And if you can't see that, if you think you're the one person in this world who was never supposed to cry, then clearly you're more immature than Shiori gives you credit for."

Natta closed her eyes and turned away. "What do you want from me?"

"I'm beyond wanting anything from you. Me and Shiori both. But listen to me good, this tragedy of yours you fixate on, Shiori went thru it too. Once when she was just a child, and again while she's a teenager. Unlike you, she actually witnessed the deaths and it happened twice, but even more unlike you she's moved on and still trying to live. She's faced what you won't and she's doing what you're afraid to do. Deny it all you want, you're still pathetic. And if you ever threaten Shiori for real rather than wishful thinking, I swear you won't live to regret it, Mother."

Miya then left the room, leaving Natta to more thoughts she didn't want to have.

* * *

The next day the rain was ceased, and Kiri had one of its normal misty grey mornings.

"What do you want to do now?" Naruto asked Shiori while they were walking down the streets together.

Shiori had stayed at his place during the night rather than return home, and after seeing what she had to go home to Naruto didn't want to reject her request. Actually it had felt kind of nice having some company in his apartment.

Oddly enough, she had insisted on sleeping the couch instead of him, saying it was his home therefore she didn't feel right taking his bed from him.

"I'd like to get some breakfast first, then maybe some training if you're up to it." Shiori offered.

Naruto nodded. "Sure, I hate days where I have nothing to do. I can't imagine anyone who'd enjoy a day where all they did was sleep or be lazy."

"Excellent, then we can meet up Kasumi-sensei at the training field later." Shiori said with a smile. "So what do you want for breakfast?"

"Well how about a nice bowl of-" Naruto began to say.

Shiori stopped him right there, knowing exactly how that sentence was going to end. "It's too early for ramen, but I know a small cafe that serves a little bit of everything."

"Are you crazy? It's never too early for ramen."

"Trust me, you won't regret going here." Shiori insisted. "Besides, where else would you go?"

"Well Hotaru-chan's a really good cook. Maybe-"

"No Naruto, very bad idea showing up at a girl's house specifically to ask for her to feed you. You might as well be asking to be punched in the stomach." The redhead interjected, heading in one direction as if with a purpose. Not really wanting to object, Naruto followed her.

She led him to a small rectangular building that was rather small but there was an fenced outdoor eating area to compensate. The walls were painted green and the rim of the roof possessed a thin blue line ringing around it. Yellow curtains could be seen on the windows and the door to the place was yellow as well. The tables outside were white and circular with red umbrellas sticking out to shield any who ate outside.

When they got there the two saw eight people outside already dining. To Naruto it was no big deal at all, but Shiori tensed, implicating that this wasn't nothing to her.

Naruto looked at the eight people, wondering if there was something significant or dangerous about them that Shiori had spotted. He saw four boys and four girls, each paired together as if partnered like he was with Shiori, but seated close together and conversing. No weapons could be seen other than a sword on one of the guys, but two of the girls had something strapped to their backs, something he couldn't quite identify from his current angle and distance.

One of the boys looked to them and smiled. "Hey Shiori! Long time no see." He then waved, and suddenly the entire group turned to see the two newcomers.

"Hi everyone, I guess it has been a while." The redhead replied though she was not making any attempt to get closer to the group.

"Well don't be so aloof, come on over." A girl offered.

"Is this your new teammate?" Another girl asked, looking at Naruto then smiling. "No wonder you've been avoiding us; hogging such a hottie all to yourself." She said as she winked at Naruto.

Naruto felt a small blush forming on his face as he looked to Shiori. _'You've been avoiding your friends too?'_ He thought. Before now he never realized that Shiori and Kasumi had never bothered to introduce him to other people his own age, and wondered why. Shiori and Hotaru were the only ones his age he knew in his time here in Kiri, and while they weren't bad company, it suddenly felt like they had been sheltering him from others.

Shiori steeled herself then turned to the group. "I'm going to go order something quickly. You guys get to know each other while you wait." With that she lightly pushed Naruto forward and walked inside the building.

"Well don't be afraid to sit down." One of the girls offered.

Naruto did so and sat at one of the empty nearby tables, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the attention he was receiving. "Hi, I'm Naruto and yes I'm Shiori's new teammate. She hasn't told me a thing about you guys."

"I'm not surprised. Shiori was never the most social girl in the village." The girl closest to Naruto replied. This girl had long brown hair reaching down to her waist, with some of it also resting on her front just above her healthy breasts. She had green eyes, a black dress on that had no sleeves and sported a hitai-ate in the unusual form of a wool cap on her head. More unusual was a cylindrical glass container strapped on her back that was painted bright white, making it impossible to know what if anything was inside it.

"I'm Yushio Aomi by the way. If there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I always get the job done no matter what." She then gestured to the boy seated across from her, a boy with red eyes and pale brown hair with spiked bangs, wearing a red coat over a black shirt and blue pants. His sleeves had a sort of lightning pattern zigzag going down them. He wore his hitai-ate across his forehead and was drinking from a water bottle at the moment. "And this is my teammate Hozuki Sato."

Sato put down his bottle before responding. "Hi. If you don't mind me asking, did someone cut your face a while ago?"

Naruto touched his whisker marks on one cheek. "Honestly I have no idea."

"They don't look like scars to me." The boy next to Sato commented. He had chestnut brown hair that was a bit spiked like Naruto's was, with blue eyes that looked more tired than he probably felt. He was dressed in an off-grey shirt with black pants and he was the boy with a sword at his waist. But he didn't have just a sword, he also had a kunai hanging from his neck like a pendant for some inexplicable reason. "Hi, I'm Nosho Yan. Don't really know what more to say than that."

The girl across of him rolled her eyes. "Wow, you're such a sloth Yan." From what Naruto could see of her, because Aomi's cylinder was in the way, this girl had earthen brown hair held back by a dark blue bandanna that had her hitai-ate plate sewn into it. She wore a white long sleeve blouse and red pants, which gave her the impression of being a miko instead of a kunoichi, dark blue gloves on her hands, and strapped to her back was a bamboo broom for some reason.

"Better than being a clean freak like you Amaya." Yan critiqued then looked back to Naruto. "That's my partner Machino Amaya. Sometimes I swear she was born to be a maid rather than a ninja."

"Wrong. I may like tidiness, but I need excitement. All maids do all day every day is clean up someone else's mess and take orders from the ones who made them in the first place." Amaya challenged.

"And ninja don't?" Yan replied rhetorically.

"He's got a point." The person seated next to Yan stated. "What else would you call a D-rank?"

"A pain." Yan answered, then looked to Naruto. "This is Yuki Arashi, whatever you do don't get them mad at you. This guy's not afraid to get rough."

Naruto looked at Arashi. This Kiri nin was a year older than him if height was any indication. They had brown eyes, long black hair with two yellow hair clips above the ears pulling the hair back, and wore a beige long-sleeved shirt. They were leaning on the table with their arms crossed in front of them, looking like they were waiting for something. Naruto couldn't see anything else from his angle and with Yan blocking the rest of his view, but something about this one felt strangely familiar to him.

Arashi looked to Naruto. "Don't listen to this clown. I'm not some kind of bully, I just think that if someone wants a fight they should be smarter about who they want a fight with."

"So if I were to ask for a spar?" Naruto tested.

Arashi smirked. "I'd say bring it on, but you better be worth it."

Naruto smiled. "Alright. Haven't been able to spar with anyone other than Shiori yet so this will be interesting. Might be nice to fight a guy for a change." The others present, Arashi especially, gave Naruto looks of disbelief. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Arashi nodded. "Yeah. I'm a girl."

"Really?" Naruto asked, feeling an incredible sense of deja vu for some reason. Arashi leaned up and then Naruto could see a pair of average-sized breasts under her shirt that he hadn't been able to see before. "Wait, Yan called you a guy."

"I meant in the generic sense, not the literal sense. I call everyone 'guy' like that, boy or girl." Yan justified.

"Don't even think of calling me a girl." The person seated across from Arashi told Naruto, positioning themselves to be more visible. This person had somewhat long hair for a boy but was still short, and Naruto could tell from the voice alone this person was male. They were wearing dark sunglasses but he adjusted them to get a better look at Naruto, showing his eyes were grey like metal and his hair was a soft blonde-orange color, like a mix of a tangerine and a lemon. He sported a royal purple jacket that covered anything else he wore along with blue pants. Other than his hair color he didn't seem to have a distinguishing characteristic, and he looked like he was Arashi's age.

"Then what do I call you?" Naruto asked.

"My name's Kakuremon Yogiri. That should suffice for you." He responded.

Naruto nodded and tried to look at the last two at this meeting. "And the rest?"

These two stood up and moved around so Naruto could see them better. This way he saw that these two were a year younger than him but still wore hitai-ates.

"I'm Kinpaku Suisen." The boy greeted. He had bluish-tinted black hair, teal eyes, and had two prominent bangs framing his forehead. He wore a white shirt with a jacket over it that displayed red, yellow, and green, along with tan shorts and black shoes.

'This guy must like cologne, I can smell it from here.' Naruto thought, smelling something floral coming off this boy.

"And I'm Sekaki Koseki." The girl added. She had black hair held back in two ponytails with white tips, difficult to tell if that color was natural though, purple eyes, and goggles resting above her eyes making her hitai-ate rest on her collarbone. Her attire consisted of a light blue shirt covered by a dark blue tank top, just barely showing a hint of having breasts, a dark red shirt with a white diamond pattern across it, and calf-high boots colored tan and black.

"Let me guess, you two only started this year?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, but we're good. We already took two C-rank missions." Suisen replied.

"We've all done more kid." Yogiri commented.

"But you're still a genin like us even after two years. What's that say about you?" Suisen countered.

"At least we did try to become chuunin." Arashi defended.

Yogiri nodded. "Those exams are tough. Especially for our village."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked, taking a brief glance to the cafe. 'Shiori must be ordering a lot to take this long. Or maybe she's in the restroom.'

"In case you haven't noticed, all of our teams are just two genin." Arashi explained. "Kiri has few students and a low graduation rate, all thanks to our time as the Bloody Mist. Few parents let their kids try to become ninja anymore, and the academy can't exactly lower its standards just to create more genin. That would be just sending more unqualified people out to die. So as a result, instead of the three genin set-up used by most villages, we're forced to settle for two."

"And when the exams are held in other villages, they usually refuse to accommodate our needs." Yogiri added. "Places like Suna and Iwa say 'too bad' to us and tell us we either include another genin or don't participate at all."

"Doesn't that throw off your teams though?" Naruto asked.

"Exactly." Arashi stated. "Which is why since then we try to ensure our teams can work together every so often so next time we're not at a disadvantage."

"You and Shiori should try to participate." Amaya offered.

Naruto grinned, glad to feel included. "I'd like that, though I'll have to check with Sensei, she's trying to rearrange my training schedule."

"What for?" Yan asked lazily.

"Oh well I have been training with two others at the moment, Kaji-sama and Utakata."

Suddenly the table fell silent and all eyes were wide as they stared at Naruto.

Naruto just sat there in his chair, staring back at them. "Umm did I say something wrong _this_ time?"

"Did you just say you are training… like one-on-one personal training with the legendary swordsmaster of Kiri and the former missing S-Ranked ninja Utakata?" Aomi asked, in awe.

Naruto nodded his head slowly and suddenly everyone was crowding up to him, wanting answers to questions like-

"What was it like?"

"Have they taught you any cool special moves?"

"How did you get to be their student?"

Naruto answered each one of their questions, saying that the work was extremely hard and tiring. That they had yet to really teach him any techniques or moves that could be considered special. And that he was not exactly sure himself how he became their student.

But that still did not satisfy their curiosity, they wanted more explicit details on the subject.

It was at that point that Shiori came back with her food and pulled the group away from Naruto so he could have some breathing room. "Back off guys, you're ninja, not tabloid-reporting vultures."

The rest of the meal went by rather peacefully, the group made casual conversation with each other and after a bit Shiori even started to loosen up and become a little more relaxed among her old friends.

After a while though, both Shiori and Naruto excused themselves, saying their goodbyes and agreeing that they should all meet up at some point later to train.

As they left the restaurant and started walking down the street, Naruto looked at Shiori. "They seem nice."

Shiori nodded. "They are. We were all pretty good friends at the Academy together."

"Then why did you start avoiding them?"

"It wasn't on purpose. We just never trained together or went on missions together." Shiori explained. "We did use to get together each week like this to reconnect, but I stopped coming when Hikaru-kun died. It was just too painful to."

"Well…maybe coming here and seeing them was a sign from the universe saying that you should start hanging out with them again." Naruto suggested.

Shiori looked at Naruto with a cocked brow and an amused look on her face "Do you really think that?"

Naruto simply shrugged. "Not really sure, but I do know that it might be a good idea to reconnect with your friends. If you don't then how long will they really be friends?"

The redhead simply sighed. "Alright, I'll think about it. Okay?"

Naruto smiled at her. "Thanks." It was then that he gingerly rubbed his cheek and remembered what Sato said. "Also, can I ask you something, what do you think about my scars?"

"What about them?"

"I mean do they look weird?"

"No no… gives you a fierce look."

"Really?"

"Yeah, as fierce as a kitten." Shiori said with a laugh.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Ha ha."

"Why do you care anyway?"

"I don't. I mean, not really. It's just maybe they make me stand out a little too much."

"Well you know what they say, every scar has a story." Shiori offered.

That did not help Naruto. "A story I do not know, since I can't even remember where they came from."

Shiori nodded. "Good point." She paused and started to think, after a moment a thought came to her and she smiled and grabbed Naruto's hand. "Come with me, I just thought of a cool idea."

She then dragged him thru the streets to a shop.

* * *

Kasumi stood in the center of the training ground; in a circle around her were a number of training dummies. She was standing perfectly still except for her hands, because she kept flexing her fingers.

She then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. There was a moment of silence and then suddenly, fast as lightning she pulled several shurikins from her pouch and threw them at each of the dummies, hitting each one of them even with her eyes closed.

When that was completed she opened her eyes and quickly preformed several handsigns at that moment each of the shruikins exploded and the dummies went up in flames.

Kasmi reached into her pocket and withdrew a ticking stopwatch, pressing the stop button and examined her time. "Darn just two seconds from beating my own record." She said with a huff, ignoring the fast burning dummies.

The jonin waited until the dummies were nothing but piles of ash before she exited the circle. Despite the fact that her sabbatical was coming up soon, she refused to allow herself to become lax in her skills. Nope, she intended to remain at the top of her game both before and after; which meant more practice during her free moments.

Not that she had too many free moments nowadays, especially when there was still so much to plan for the wedding. They still had to book the caterer, they had a few more invitations to mail out, not to mention the fact she still had to do a final fitting for her wedding dress.

So much to do and so little time to do it.

It was then that she heard some slight movement from behind her; she did not even turn around. "Honestly you two, the point of being as ninja is to be silent."

She could hear Shiori curse. "I told you that we were being too loud."

"We were not. Sensei has some kind of super-hearing." Naruto complained.

Kasumi smiled and started to turn around. "Actually when I was a kid I did have this condition that caused my hearing to be-" She paused for a moment when she saw Naruto. "Whoa Naruto… new look I see."

Shiori had taken Naruto to a shinobi outfitter store and there she had introduced him to fabric half-masks. Naruto had chosen a grey colored one, which now covered the lower half of his face, including his whisker-like scars.

Under his mask Naruto grinned. "Yeah, what do you think, Sensei?" He asked, eager to hear her opinion.

Kasumi took a moment to take in the look and after a moment of contemplation she gave him a thumbs up. "I like it Naruto, gives you a kind of mysterious look, it suits you."

Shiori nodded. "Not mention it makes you look pretty badass."

Naruto kept grinning. "Sweet, for a moment I thought I would not be able to pull off the look. But somehow it feels comforting to me."

"Oh you should not be worrying about fashion, Naruto." Kasumi said with a smile "Nope, instead the two of you should be worrying about completing 10 laps of a 3 mile run with exploding shurikens being thrown at you."

Both genin stared at their sensei with a look of disbelief, but both their eyes widened when they saw her withdrew several shurikens from her pouch.

"Did I stutter? Start running you two."

Both of them took off as fast they could while Kasumi chased after them, laughing like a crazy women.


	29. Chapter 29

In the center of the training ground was a small pond where students could practice water-based jutsus. At the moment Naruto and Shiori were standing at opposite ends, facing each other while Kasumi stood looking at the both of them.

There was a period of silence hanging in the air, they could hear the wind moving the trees.

"Begin" Kasumi yelled suddenly.

At that moment, both Naruto and Shiori ran across that water at each other. Naruto withdrew several kunai from his pouch and threw them at Shiori with amazing speed and focus.

Shiroi did not even break her pace as she performed a water jutsu, producing several water tentacles that shot from the water and grabbed the kunai mid-air then flung them back at Naruto, who dodged all of them, though one of them got fairly close to grazing him. However in the moment that he dodged them he allowed his eyes to waver from Shiori who took the moment to her advantage and attacked.

She aimed her fist at Naruto's face and would have made contact had Naruto not blocked. The blonde then aimed a kick at Shiori's exposed midsection. Moving quickly, the redhead grabbed Naruto's foot with both of her hands, to get him off balance and hoping it would break his concentration so he would fall into the water like he normally did.

Kasumi watched her two students with pride as they performed their mock battle with each other. _'Good to see that Naruto-kun got over his cold. All he really needed was moderation, not cramming, he even finally mastered that water walking jutsu, thank Kami. And it looks like Shiori's getting better with him being around. Before, she acted more like she was just tolerating him, but now she seems comfortable with his company.'_

She continued to watch them, a feeling of pride forming in her.

"Hey Kasumi!"

The feeling vanished at that moment as the brunette jounin turned and saw three people heading her way, one jounin and two genin. The jounin she recognized right away.

"Yoshiro-san, what brings you here?" She said with a faint semi-forced smile.

"What, can't a guy check up on the competition now and then?" He teased, referencing their long-term rivalry.

Ever since they were kids, Midorigami Kasumi and Ukita Yoshiro had been competitive with each other. The competition went back so far neither could remember for sure which one had started it, but both claimed it had been the other. Kasumi believed that it was caused due to a kunai throwing contest at a village festival. Yoshiro instead had claimed that it had been because of a weight-lifting contest.

Their rivalry was a rather innocent one that neither had dropped, but used as motivation to become better ninja. Back in the Academy, the two had always been evenly matched in all graded aspects. Tests, spars, accuracy, speed, the two had practically been tied in everything. Not only that, whenever one did get ahead of the other, the other would get ahead the next time, and the cycle repeated.

There were points where other students had whispered behind their backs that the two of them were actually in love. Any student who said that would soon find himself or herself tied to the flagpole with their pants pulled down and the word FOOL written on their forehead.

People kept called them rank-rivals in class given how flexible their ranks were, and naturally the two made it into a competition. The two tried to always outdo each other and become the better ninja, yet when they graduated the two had tied yet again. Fortunately their fighting styles weren't compatible so they hadn't been placed on the same team.

But their real rivalry, not just a mere schoolyard contest, started the day they got assigned their teams.

-Flashback-

_"I'm actually a bit surprised we weren't assigned together." A young preteen Kasumi told an equally young Yoshiro while they had a break before their senseis were supposed to arrive._

_"Me too. Guess someone wants us apart to grow strong separately." Yoshiro replied. "Though if they had put us together we would have won the title __Kiri no Yūrei hands down."_

_Kiri no Yurei, or Ghosts of the Mist, was a title that every rookie team coveted. It was bestowed to the team that was the best of the best, those who had proven themselves to be true ninja of the mist. __It was the next best thing to being a member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist._

_"Well then at least once every month we need to meet up and spar to see who's getting stronger." Kasumi insisted, not wanting to admit she actually enjoyed their little game._

_"Well how will we know who's winning? We've been doing that same basic routine for years now just indirectly." Yoshiro commented._

_"Easy. The first one of us to become chuunin is the obvious stronger one."_

_Yoshiro arched an eyebrow. "And what if the pattern holds up and we become chuunin at the same time? We see who becomes jounin first?"_

_"Sooner or later one of us has to beat the other in a clear way Yoshiro-san." Kasumi declared, pumping her fist. "We're not joined at the hip. One of us will beat the other at something. Whether it's first to become chuunin, jounin, sensei, or have a student become chunin or jounin first, eventually one of us will finally reach an answer."_

_"And then what? What happens when we do?" Yoshiro asked._

_"I don't know, but I for one am tired of us being referred to like we're twins or something. I mean, for years it's always been 'Yoshiro and Kasumi' or 'Kasumi and Yoshiro'. Name one time we've ever been referred to separately. It's nothing personal, I just want to be known for something other than being even with you. I want to be Kasumi, not the girl who's always tied with Yoshiro. And I'm sure you don't want to be remembered as merely an extension of myself either."_

_Yoshiro nodded and faced her. "Alright, the first one of us to be chuunin will be the once-and-for-all champion between us. And if that's inconclusive, the first to be jounin and so on until finally one of us gets somewhere first. Even if we're just the only ones to know, that will be enough."_

_Kasumi nodded. "Right." The two then bumped fists to make it official._

-End Flashback-

That was just the start, and it stayed normal but competitive, and soon their friends became aware of the contest. They thought it was pointless, but Kasumi and Yoshiro were determined to no longer be doubles of each other, whether or not anyone else understood. For the most part it was the main thing that drove them.

But things took a different turn a year later. A turn that made this more than just a mere competition.

-Flashback-

_"I don't know whether to be surprised or not." Yoshiro said, holding his newly-earned chuunin vest._

_"I know the feeling." Kasumi added, already wearing hers._

_"Despite the odds we actually became chuunin at the same time. I'm starting to think we really will be destined to compete like this for the rest of our lives."_

_"Well we can't be neck-in-neck forever Yoshiro-san." Kasumi claimed._

_Yoshiro frowned in irritation. "Well what will it take? Unless one of us dies or becomes Mizukage, we're going to keep being evenly matched in everything. Heck, we're even tied in height."_

_"But not weight. I'm thinner than you." Kasumi countered._

_"You're a girl, it would be weird if we weighed the same." Yoshiro pointed out._

_"Well we just have to stick to the plan even if it means things get tougher from this point on. After all, a good ninja is one that's not afraid to take risks."_

_Yoshiro gave her a confused look. "No, a good ninja knows how to avoid risk to get the job done right."_

_"What the heck is that? That's no way to do the job."_

_"It's the best way. Only a reckless daredevil would needlessly do this without care of the risk." Yoshiro insisted._

_"And only a coward would analyze every step before taking even one." Kasumi insisted back._

_"Are you calling me a coward?" Yoshiro asked. In all their time competing against each other, neither of them had ever actually insulted the other. Not outside of normal jest that is._

_"If you won't do something unless you're certain you won't get hurt by it, then yes, you're a coward." Kasumi argued._

_"I'm just being pragmatic. But apparently you're one of those reckless idiots charging in doing things the hard and unnecessary way just for the fun of it. This job isn't about having fun, it's about surviving long enough to do the next one." Yoshiro responded._

_Kasumi was fuming. "Reckless idiot am I? Just because I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty or take risks? Well I'd rather be a reckless idiot than a pompous coward looking down my nose at everyone who's willing to do this job the right way."_

_Yoshiro was fuming now too. "My way is the right way! Your way is only going to get yourself killed someday!"_

_"I'm good at what I do!"_

_"So am I!"_

_"Then we'll know someday who's better at what they do." Kasumi huffed and turned away._

_"Yeah, we will." Yoshiro replied within earshot, turning away as well._

-End Flashback-

From that day on, the challenge between the two Kiri nin was no longer about which one was the stronger ninja, but about which one had the right idea about what made a good ninja.

For Kasumi it was a matter of bravery and dedication, and for Yoshiro it was a matter of practicality and self-preservation.

There was no official change of terms, but the two had silently come to a conclusion that the first one to break the cycle of ties would be considered the 'right' ninja. This continued for years, with neither giving any ground.

Except for the mission when Hikaru died. Kasumi would never forgive or forget Yoshiro's reaction to the news when she came back to Kiri.

_"Looks like I win. My students are still both alive."_

For the first time Kasumi attacked her rival outside of a spar. She hit him good and more than once, thought she could not actually remember actually doing it, all she could remember seeing was red. When it was over he had to be treated for burns that night.

Fortunately for him Kasumi was stopped before she attacked him with her explosive sword. Kasumi had been punished of course for attacking a comrade, but Mei made it light since she heard the cause and felt Yoshiro brought it on himself.

When he recovered Yoshiro did apologize to Kasumi, saying it was uncalled for to use her student's death as leverage in a self-proclaimed competition. But the damage had been done.

Whatever respect Kasumi had for her rival was gone. Now she wasn't a friend in any sense of the word, now she was just a colleague to him. And she made that perfectly clear to him with one statement.

_"Looks like you win. You get to be the stronger of the two of us. I just hope it was worth it, Hikaru-kun paid a big price for it."_

Since then Yoshiro tended to avoid Kasumi when he could, and when he couldn't he seemed to always trigger her anger. So him showing up now confused her but didn't please her.

"What do you want Yoshiro-san? I am rather busy at the moment?"

"My genin want to spar yours. They want to see what the recluses have been up to." Yoshiro told her. "Nothing wrong with that right?"

Kasumi scoffed but held up her hand, which ended the mock battle and both of her students immediately came to her side, she then looked at her students. "You guys up to it?"

Naruto looked at the two genin and smirked under his mask. "Guess it's time for that spar huh?"

"Think you're up to it newbie?" Arashi teased. She and Yogiri were the students of Yoshiro. "And what's with the mask?"

"Absolutely. I want to see if all that cramming three senseis have been doing to me is actually doing anything for me." Naruto replied. "And the mask is just there."

Kasumi smirked. "Well I guess that's one set-up decided. Shiori-san, want to fight Yogiri-san?" Kasumi offered.

"Maybe after. I kind of want to see this first." The redhead replied.

Yogiri nodded. "I would as well."

Without objection, Naruto and Arashi stood apart on opposing sides of the pond again and both took up their stances. Naruto unsheathed his sword, the sword that once belonged to Hikaru, and stood in the way Kasumi always did. He held his sword in front of himself with his elbows pointed out, sword pointed up and tilted to the left. His feet were about a foot apart and kept even, allowing him to quickly move in any direction or stand his ground if need be.

He then recalled the words Kaji had told him. _'A sword is more then just a weapon or a tool. It is a part of you. When you draw it from its sheath it becomes an extension of yourself. Recognize that you and it are one.'_

Naruto took a breath as he gripped the sword. _'We are one, we fight as one.' _He told himself.

Yoshiro recognized that stance very well and glanced to his rival, who wasn't paying attention to him, her eyes focused completely on the matter at hand.

Arashi took her own stance, a strange one to Naruto. She bent forward and turned her body to point towards her right, in a northeast direction. Her hands were empty but looked ready to grab something, and her arms were positioned as if to block or grab at a moments notice, with her legs bent and spread to leverage her. Ultimately, she looked like some kind of hunched creature ready to pounce.

"Don't you have a weapon?" Naruto asked, he would not feel right attacking an unarmed opponent.

"Yes, and you'll see it when I need to use it." Arashi replied.

Without any signal to start, Arashi rushed forward at a surprisingly fast speed that caught Naruto off guard for a moment, he then realized that her crouch now revealed to be a means to reduce air resistance for a sudden burst of speed.

_'I see no weapon, I can't use my sword dangerously in a simple spar.'_ Naruto thought, deciding not to block the attack but avoid it. When she got close, he jumped to his right.

Arashi smirked and he could see it. _'She wanted me to do this.'_ Without moving her head to look right at him, Arashi flexed her left hand as if she was throwing something, but Naruto never saw anything in her hand to begin with.

But he sure felt like something hit him right there in his jump. It felt like he had been hit by a blunt kunai he couldn't even see. He landed and touched the affected area, his stomach, not cuts or blood coming from it, but still it felt like something had struck him. _'It feels cold. What did she use?'_

Arashi pivoted with ease and went right back for him. She flicked her wrist again as if throwing something, and Naruto felt an impact by his left shoulder. But he saw nothing come at him.

_'Okay, she's got an attack I can't see but it doesn't seem to do much damage. Either she's holding back or this is as strong as she can make it. Either way, time for me to attack.'_

Naruto quickly thought before putting his sword in the ground and rushing at her. The two met and both grabbed the hands of the other, trying to push back.

Naruto tried a sweep kick to throw Arashi off balance, but the girl jumped as soon as his leg moved, completely dodging the attack, all without letting go of his hands. As if to keep him right there. While in the air Arashi inhaled deeply then blew at Naruto with a lot of force, her breath visible as if cold.

Unable to evade, Naruto was forced to endure what felt like wind from a snowstorm. Tiny bits of something hard hit him too, as if being pelted by hail. _'Wait, she's using ice? She's an ice user like Haku? Wait, Haku? Who's Haku? Do I know someone named Haku?'_

Using his confusion as an opportunity, Arashi landed and headbutted Naruto in his forehead, releasing his hands so he could fall back. "What's the matter? Can't stand a little chill?" She taunted, seeing him hesitate.

Suddenly, quicky forgetting the name Haku Naruto charged in much faster than before, landing a hard punch to the girl's abdomen, making her look like she was silently yelling from the impact. He then followed up with another punch to her frontside, forcing her back a bit, giving him an opportunity to do another swing kick. This time it was successful and Arashi collapsed.

The girl was on the ground sitting up and gasping for breath. She had a good ability to take a hit, but two direct hits from the whiskered blonde had knocked the wind out of her. She looked up and saw he was staring down at her, his sword in one hand and pointed directly at her.

At first glance it looked like there was a deep serious look in his crystal blue eyes. but when she got a better look, she could see that his eyes were... unfocused. As if he wasn't really seeing her, but someone else. His fist clenched and unclenched repeatedly, as if he didn't know whether to continue or stop here.

Naruto stared at her, but as he did an image appeared in his mind, the face of a young…man? Girl? Wearing a Kiri symbol, and smiling as small trails of blood dribbled from his/her mouth as he/she said _"kill me."_

"No." He said as the image vanished from his mind, he resheathed his sword and turned away.

"Naruto?" Shiori asked when her teammate came up to them.

"I'm not feeling so good. I need to go home." He said plainly as he walked by, not even stopping to look at them.

Kasumi watched him got and for some reason he seemed much older to her, he looked like a man who bore a great and heavy burden on his shoulders.

When he was out of sight, Kasumi leaned down to Shiori. "Follow him, but don't let him see you." The redhead nodded then went after him. Kasumi then looked to Yoshiro, who was helping Arashi back to her feet. "Guess this means the sparring is over, and from where I was standing my student won."

"He walked away, technically that's forfeiting." Yoshiro countered.

"No, by your standards that's losing the battle but winning the war. Remember?" Kasumi argued, using his own belief against him.

"Then what is it by your standards?" Yoshiro asked.

"I call that one being the last man standing and ending the fight without making it unnecessarily worse. Call it whatever you want, the inescapable fact is my student, the 'new meat' as you once put it, won this fight." She then walked away, leaving her rival to mull over her claim.

"You okay?" Yogiri asked his teammate.

"Something wasn't right there. At the end, it was like... he was fighting someone else. Someone... he felt a connection to." Arashi noted.

* * *

Naruto walked in a way that looked like he had nowhere to go, but an observant viewer could tell he did have a destination in mind.

_'Let's see, as far as I know there are only five places in Kiri that Naruto would feel comfortable going to on his own. The usual training ground is out since he just left there, and this isn't the direction of Kaji-sama's place or his own, so that leaves Matsuoka Ramen or that shrine Utakata-sama stays at.'_ Shiori thought, being sure that Naruto couldn't see her.

That didn't seem to be a problem, since Naruto wasn't making any effort to look behind himself.

After a while he reached one of the destinations Shiori expected, the shrine. The shrine was very old, in fact it had been among the first shrines established in Kiri. It was a historical landmark but was itself was public property. It was usually where holiday festivals were often held in Kiri; very few people actually came here to pray, except for an occasional villager from one of the smaller islands who came here to ask for good fortune. The shrine was tended to by monks and retired shinobi who had come to seek inner peace after a lifetime of fighting. Utakata was staying there for a sense of privacy and because he liked the gardens.

Naruto walked up the stairs to the main grounds, and right away he saw a girl in miko garments sweeping the grounds with a bamboo broom. The girl heard approaching footsteps and went to welcome the newcomer, smiling once she saw who it was, she walked over and gave Naruto a small bow. "Hello Naruto-kun, you're early today. Aren't you supposed to be with your team?"

"I kinda lost my enthusiasm for today, Hotaru."

"What happened?"

"Can we sit down?" Naruto asked. Hotaru nodded and went to sit next to him on a stone bench, unaware Shiori was eavesdropping.

_'That's the girl that came with Utakata-sama, and the one he said seeing became the highlight of his day. Does he feel more comfortable around her then me?'_ Shiori thought, finding herself rather jealous.

"I was doing some sparring with another girl from another team. I was trying to see how she fought before deciding what to show her. Weird thing is, her fighting style felt... familiar to me." Naruto explained.

"Maybe you met one of her relatives in the past and that's why it was familiar." Hotaru suggested, aware of his amnesia too.

"Maybe, but what happened next bothered me. It was like several images appeared before my eyes crammed into just a few seconds. And there was a name attached to them too, Haku."

"Any idea what it means?" Hotaru asked, wondering what his thoughts on his own experience was.

"I have no idea, and that's what worries me. Especially because why I was remembering that, I felt like I was remembering someone trying to kill me. I... I think I was fighting in the spar as if I was fighting that other person." Naruto confessed.

"I take it you don't like that?" Hotaru asked.

"I feel like I was going overboard. Hurting someone for a wrong reason." Naruto admitted. "And it get's slightly worse…this Haku person, I have this vague memory of a Kiri symbol."

"Do you think it could have been an old teammate of yours?"

"I don't know…gahhhh damn amnesia!" Naruto yelled as he gripped his head. At that point Hotaru knelt down next to him, placing her hands on his shoulders and after a moment she started to giggle, surprising and bothering Naruto a bit. "What's so funny?"

"For a boy who wants to be a strong ninja so badly, you sure seem to hate being in fights." Hotaru said with an amused smile still on her face.

"It's one thing to hurt someone who deserves it, but not just for a spar." Naruto insisted.

Hotaru shook her head. "Not exactly Naruto. Getting hurt in a spar is half the point. Spars are about more than just keeping your moves sharp, they're meant to teach you what to do in real fights. I'm not saying you should treat every spar like it's a real life-or-death situation, but I am saying that if you hesitate in practice, how can you be sure you won't hesitate in the real thing?"

"So what? You think I just hurt people and not care about it?" Naruto asked, clearly showing the idea was out of the question.

"No, but there is such a thing as caring too much." Hotaru warned. "Caring for others isn't as simple as people make it out to be. If you care too much, people take advantage of you. If you don't care at all, they stop caring in return. You have to find a right balance instead of trying to apply one emotion to every situation."

Not sure what to say, Naruto just gave her a confused expression. The idea that he was supposed to pick and choose when to have a heart did not sit well with him. Emotions weren't something that came with a switch, you don't just turn them on or off when you need them.

Sensing his confusion, Hotaru knew she needed to be more clear. "My point is even though you don't have to try and kill the person you're fighting, you shouldn't be afraid to hurt them, even in spars. Pain fades, wounds heal, and afterwards people are stronger for it. Part of training is learning how to take a hit, not just how to deliver one. By refusing to do your part, you're actually insulting the other person."

"Insulting them?" Naruto repeated.

Hotaru nodded. "Yeah, it's like you're saying they're not worth fighting as equals. Or like you think they're too weak to take it. I'm sure that girl you hit earlier doesn't hate you for hitting her. If she was that shallow I doubt she'd be a kunoichi in the first place. Being hit is part of the job, even by the opposite sex. Heck if anything she probably respects you for having the courage to do that to her."

Naruto looked away. "Yeah right, how can anyone respect someone who hits them and doesn't even apologize for it?"

_'I wonder if he doesn't understand because of his amnesia, or if he wasn't taught basic human interaction before he lost his memories.'_ Hotaru wondered silently. "Naruto, the rules of right and wrong work differently when you're on the job. Like I said before, you can't treat every situation you're in like they're all the same. No more than you can treat every person you see like they're all the same."

"But still, what gives me the right to decide any of that?" Naruto asked.

Hotaru gently touched his hand, making him look back at her. "When it comes to your own emotions, you have every right to make your own choices. No one has the right to command or forbid your heart from feeling something Naruto. I just recommend not letting it blind you to the realities of the shinobi world."

"And you know these realities how?" Naruto asked.

"I came from a clan Naruto, the Tsuchigumo clan. You won't find any here, they live in another village." She told him.

"Then why-?"

"That's not important. My reasons for being here are personal and not necessary for this discussion." She cut him off. "The point is that just because I'm not a Kiri nin doesn't mean I don't know anything about the job. I've been in a few fights myself. You know what I've learned in those fights?" Naruto shook his head. "I learned that right and wrong don't mean anything if you're dead."

Hotaru then put her hand on his cheek to keep his attention. "Naruto, when you're training, you're not just teaching your body to handle a fight, you're teaching your mind to handle it too. You're training yourself to handle being in situations where someone is trying to kill you, and you know the only way to get out is killing them first. It's okay to not enjoy hurting someone in a spar, just don't hate yourself for having to do it. Because if you can't handle a simulation, how can you handle the real thing?"

Her words were finally sinking in, and Naruto closed his eyes. "I guess there's more to this job then what I thought." He then sighed and opened his eyes. "Thanks Hotaru, I feel better now."

"No problem." Hotaru smiled, only then removing her hand from his face. "Well I'm getting hungry. Want to have lunch?"

"Sure, your cooking is the best" He said enthusiastically as they both stood up and went into the shrine.

From her hiding space, Shiori watched with wide eyes and a slack jaw. _'That girl... likes Naruto?'_ She thought to herself, her hands immediately clenching into fists and she glared at the girl before she and Naruto vanished inside the shrine. '_Does he like her back?'_

When she thought that last part she immediately felt a knot forming in her stomach and she could not figure why, prompting her to quickly shake her head. _'What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I letting that bother me?' _She asked herself. _'It's not like I care.'_

But thinking that did not alleviate the knot feeling from her stomach nor banish the question 'did Naruto like Hotaru?'


End file.
